An inmate added murder to her charges after she allegedly punched a pregnant hospital worker so forcefully that the blow killed her unborn baby, according to official records.
39-year-old Cheri Aziza Akil had been transferred from jail to the John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, on Wednesday so that she could receive treatment for suicidal ideation, according to WFAA-TV.
Akil was being restrained when she allegedly punched a pregnant hospital worker. The medical staffer was immediately taken to the hospital’s trauma unit for treatment, where they discovered her baby no longer had a heartbeat.
The inmate had been originally arrested on credit debit fraud two days prior to the attack, according to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office.
On Wednesday, she was charged with driving while intoxicated and intentionally/knowingly operating an illicit game room. After Akil allegedly killed the unborn baby, murder was added to her charges.
“JPS takes workplace violence incidents very seriously and has processes in place to assess and address environmental risks,” said Jessica Virnoche, a spokesperson for the JPS Health Network. “Due to individual and patient privacy rules, JPS is not in a position to provide any additional information about this incident at this time.”
Under Texas law, a person can be charged with murder even if the victim is unborn.
Akil will be booked into the Tarrant County Jail after completing treatment at the hospital. Jail records indicate that she is also facing a charge of possession of methamphetamine.
She identifies herself on her Facebook account as a “stay-at-home parent.”
Here’s a local news report about the incident:
Police: Prison inmate Cheri Akil charged after punching pregnant medical worker, killing fetuswww.youtube.com
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!