A Franklin County judge on April 23, 2026, found Makaela Wilson not guilty by reason of insanity in the stabbing of a Mount Carmel East employee last fall, shifting the case from criminal punishment to long-term treatment in a secure psychiatric setting. The attack happened inside a hospital kitchen on Sept. 30, 2025, where the employee was critically injured, taken to Mount Carmel East’s emergency department, and later stabilized. The ruling came months after a December 2025 finding that Wilson was incompetent to stand trial.
Police say the confrontation started around 8:45 a.m. on Sept. 30, 2025. Security footage, according to investigators, shows a woman leaving the hospital kitchen with a large kitchen knife and trying to hide it under her shirt. Officers later found her in nearby woods after a short foot chase, recovered a knife, and reported that she had self-inflicted cuts that were treated after her arrest. Those details surfaced when Columbus police filed a felonious assault charge in October 2025, as reported by NBC4, and in coverage of the police arrest after Mount Carmel kitchen stabbing.
Wilson, previously deemed incompetent to stand trial in December 2025, had been facing the felonious assault charge filed by the Columbus Division of Police after the hospital incident. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Karen Held Phipps issued the not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity ruling and, according to court records, ordered Wilson to a civil unit at Central Ohio Behavioral Healthcare rather than a prison cell. The assignment and ruling were described in local court coverage by 10TV, and Judge Phipps is listed on the roster of the Franklin County Court.
Judge Orders Civil Commitment
The court entry directs that Wilson receive treatment in a hospital environment instead of incarceration, reflecting the judge’s finding about her mental state at the time of the offense. In Ohio, a defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity can be committed to a psychiatric hospital under court supervision, with those commitments reviewed periodically and guided by medical evaluations.
That process has become more common and more strained, as highlighted in public-interest reporting about the pressure on Ohio’s forensic and regional psychiatric beds when courts order treatment for people with severe mental illness. WOSU has explored who ends up in Ohio’s psychiatric hospitals, how they get there, and how capacity limits create bottlenecks.
Legal Implications
Under Ohio law, a person found not guilty by reason of insanity stays under the trial court’s jurisdiction. A commitment can last until the court decides the person no longer needs involuntary hospitalization or until the maximum prison term for the most serious underlying charge has run out, whichever comes first. The state’s statutes spell out the hearings and reviews that govern competency findings, civil commitment, and possible discharge, which means a judge, not hospital staff alone, decides when someone can be released, as per the Ohio Revised Code.
Hospital Reaction And Next Steps
Mount Carmel Health System told reporters that the incident involved “two colleagues and no patients” and confirmed that the injured employee was treated and stabilized. The system has not publicly rolled out any staffing or security changes tied specifically to the insanity ruling, and Columbus police say the original felonious assault charge remains part of the case record, as per 10TV.
Under the court order, Wilson’s placement and treatment will be managed by clinicians and reviewed periodically by the court. Any future hearings or filings will show up on the Franklin County Common Pleas docket, and residents who want to track the case can check with the clerk’s office or the public court calendar for updates, according to the Franklin County Court.
