An Ohio woman, arrested in 2012 for seeking a hitman to kill someone wearing fur, was charged with attempted murder and assault after a babysitter was stabbed and slashed at a church near Cleveland.

Meredith Lowell, 35, has had numerous run-ins with police due to her animal rights activism. She also was arrested in 2012 for soliciticing a hitman on Facebook to kill someone wearing fur.

Lowell was arrested Nov. 20 at Fairmount Presbyerian Church in Cleveland Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, after allegedly slashing and stabbing a woman dropping off children for choir practice. Neither the children nor anyone else were hurt. Lowell was held on $1 million bond.

Another churchgoer and church staff member detained Lowell until police arrived, where they found the unidentified victim on the floor in a pool of blood. Police also found a kitchen knife. A witness sitting with the victim said while waiting for choir practice to begin, Lowell "suddenly appeared" in the church, approached her and began punching her before walking away. The victim did not realize she was stabbed until she saw blood.

“It is our belief the motive behind the attack was believed to be [the victim] wearing fur,” Cleveland Heights Police Chief Anne Mecklenburg told local news media Thursday morning. “It’s a little different. It’s going to take a lot more legwork by our detectives but they are actively looking into everything.”

The babysitter was treated at a local hospital for two stab wounds in the arm and one in the abdomen.

Lowell's activism dates to at least 2012 when she was indicted by a federal grand jury for seeking a hitman on social media outlets to kill someone wearing fur.

“I would like to create an online community on Facebook which would allow me to find someone who is willing to kill someone who is wearing fur toward the end of October 2011 or early November 2011 or possibly January 2012 or February 2012 at the latest,” Lowell wrote, according to the indictment. An undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman communicated with her about her requests.

She was ordered to undergo psychological evaluations. While in custody Lowell passed a note to an officer saying if she was released she would attempt to hire someone or she would kill someone herself for wearing fur. Pathologists ultimately determned she was not competent to stand trial, and could not be restored to competency, due to mental disease or defect. 

A later evaulation determined Lowell was not a danger to herself, the general public or property. Court records show Lowell received treatment at a federal facility prior to prosecutors dismissing the 2012 charges; they retained the option to refile them later. 

She was indicted in January 2019 in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for felonious assault stemming from an attack on a woman in November 2018. She was released on $5,000 bond and the case was transferred to mental health court. Lowell allegedly punched and tried to cut with a Swiss Army knife a woman wearing a jacket with faux fur on the hood. The woman was not cut.