New York City Steakhouse Stabbing Suspect Joan Thompson Was Defending Herself, Family Says

A 41-year-old woman celebrating her birthday inside a New York City steakhouse has been charged with assault and menacing after allegedly stabbing a fellow diner in the lung, even as her parents claim their daughter was just acting in self-defense. Joan Thompson was arrested early Saturday morning after fleeing the scene at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, where police said she became enraged after the 24-year-old victim’s wife made a number of rude comments about the eatery’s service. Thompson’s father, Carlos Stapleton, told the New York Daily News that the victim’s table also began physically harassing his daughter, with one of them punching her in the face at one point. Several restaurant employees corroborated the punching to the Daily News, adding that the victim’s party had been insulting Thompson and her cousin, calling them sex workers for how they were dressed. Video of the Friday night incident shows Thompson stood on a chair, shouting and repeatedly plunging the knife downward. She later told police she had “no memory” of the attack, authorities said. “She’s very scared,” said Thompson’s mother, Barbara Stapleton.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEnZiipKmXsqK%2F02eaqKVfo7K4edioqaRlk57BunnSrZyao5ikwrSxjKyrmpqUpLqitc2Ybmarpai9pq%2FTZqGomZ5iwam7zKmqqKZdrK60ecOenZ6mlJ67qHnHnqmsnZybeqetzKKjsmWjlsa0