By Brittany Grove
Sun Staff Writer
bgrove@evesun.com
NORWICH – Lucinda Knoll, 39, died Sunday night in UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City after she was fatally beaten. Knoll was found in the driveway of her home on Bourbon Street at the Maple Grove Trailer Park, located in the Town of Norwich.
It was Friday, Dec. 27 at approximately 6:45 a.m. when the Chenango County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call reporting a female had been assaulted and robbed outside her residence. The Norwich EMT team arrived to find Knoll covered in blood with severe trauma to her head. She was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition.
Chenango County Sheriff's officers arrested Oxford resident, William H. Danielson, 48, on Friday. Danielson was the ex-boyfriend of Knoll and the father of their seven-year-old son.
He was charged with the class B felony of attempted murder in the second degree; and the class B felony of robbery in the first degree.
Danielson was arraigned in Chenango County Court. Judge Frank B. Revoir, Jr. remanded him to the Chenango County Correctional Facility without bail.
Mitchell J. O'Neil, 47, said he was smoking a cigarette on his porch and letting his dog outside in the Maple Grove Trailer Park, when he heard screaming coming from a home adjacent to his. He thought it was a child yelling for help.
“I still can't get it out of my head. There was a lot of blood underneath her head and on her coat. I am trying to get it off my chest, but I can't,” said O'Neil.
O'Neil said he rushed toward the screams and found Knoll's seven-year-old son standing near the victim who told him he thinks his mom is dead.
O'Neil brought the boy to his home, so the boy and O'Neil's wife could call 911. O'Neil grabbed a cloth and dampened it before returning to Knoll's side. She was unconscious but still breathing, as he washed her faced. He stayed with her until help came.
O'Neil said he believes Knoll was beaten and stabbed. The District Attorney's Office confirmed she was assaulted but cannot currently confirm Knoll was stabbed.
O'Neil said the boy was alone with his mother when the assault occurred at approximately 6 a.m. He said Knoll was trying leave with her son and was getting into her car when Danielson ran around the car and attacked her. The seven-year-old boy was already in the passenger side of the car at the time and “witnessed the whole thing.”
According to O'Neil, Knoll's seven-year-old son is now with his grandparents.
“I think the reason the father was mad was because he couldn't have custody of his son. He wasn't happy with just having visitation,” said O'Neil. “She was badly beaten. It was not a very good scene. I have never seen a woman like that. It was viscous.”
O'Neil said when the EMTs got to Knoll's residence and saw her condition, they were in shock and said “this is bad.” O'Neil said he has trouble sleeping and thinking positive. “Every time I try to think of something positive, her face and body flashes in my head.”
O'Neil plans to attend counseling for the traumatic event. Despite the trauma, O'Neil was thankful he heard the boy's cries and was there for Knoll, even though she was unconscious.
“I just want the family to know I was there for her. I am glad I was there. May the Lord bless all of them,” said O'Neil.
When O'Neil heard Knoll had died, he said he “just started crying.”
Now that Knoll has died from her injuries, Danielson will be arraigned for murder in the second degree in the near future, said the District Attorney. In the mean time, Danielson has a felony hearing on Thursday, Jan. 2 in the Town of Norwich Court.
District Attorney Joseph McBride said, “My heart goes out to the victim, her extended family and her children. This is a sad time for Chenango County.”