Drunk woman tried to drown 3-year-old-girl, hurt her brother because they were Muslim: indictment
Euless woman indicted for trying to drown child
Investigators say Elizabeth Wolf was drunk and made racial statements before approaching a Palestinian woman wearing a hijab and her two kids at a Euless apartment pool. She's now formally charged with attempted capital murder with an added hate crime enhancement.
EULESS, Texas - A Euless woman arrested for trying to drown a little girl and hurting the little girl’s brother has been formally charged.
If she's convicted, she could face extra time for the charges because the grand jury determined she may have committed hate crimes.
Three months after police say Elizabeth Wolf tried to drown a little girl and injured her brother, a Tarrant County grand jury indicted the 42-year-old on attempted capital murder and causing bodily injury to a child.
The August 15 indictment also added a hate crime enhancement, saying Wolf targeted the children because they were "Muslims or persons of Middle Eastern descent."
That hate crime enhancement was something Shaimaa Zayan with the Texas chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations has been pushing for since May.
"It had all the elements of a hate crime," she said.
Investigators on May 19. Wolf was drunk and made racial statements before approaching a Palestinian woman wearing a hijab and her two kids at a Euless apartment pool.
Police say Wolf grabbed the 6-year-old boy and scratched him.
While the boy’s mother was helping her son, Wolf then allegedly grabbed the woman’s 3-year-old daughter and forced her underwater.
Both of the children recovered physically.
"When we said, it’s a tiny girl, she is really tiny, really tiny. Cute girl," Zayan said. "She smiles with her eyes. So sweet. So sad it happened to her."
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Euless woman arrested for trying to drown 3 year-old child back in jail
Elizabeth Wolf was arrested again last week after a judge declared her bond to be insufficient.
But Zayan tells FOX 4 she visited with the family this week, and they are receiving help from Tarrant County Victims Services.
"They are getting better," she said. "I can see the mom, she is gaining her confidence, a sense of safety and sense of trust in public."
The family is also relieved knowing Wolf remains in the Tarrant County jail on a $1 million bond. But they are still waiting and hoping for full and final justice.