A pregnant mom getting her child from her car was approached by a North Carolina repeat offender who stabbed her with a steak knife, police said.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) announced the arrest of Marvina Butler-Hardy. She is accused of stabbing a pregnant woman outside in the parking lot of the Harris Teeter in Cotswold on March 18.
The pregnant woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
The stabbing appeared to be a random act, with detectives saying the victim and suspect did not know each other and had no previous interactions.
Authorities allege that Butler approached the female victim at the popular grocery chain at approximately 11:30 a.m.
The 38-year-old pregnant woman told WSOC-TV she was getting her toddler out of her car when the woman who pulled out of the space behind her stopped her car, got out, cursed at her, and attacked her with a knife.
“I was facing my toddler, getting him out of his seat, and thankfully turned around, and she was coming at me with a steak knife,” the victim, who asked not to be identified, told the local outlet.
“I pushed and kicked and screamed, and thankfully I think that scared her off,” she said.
The victim was stabbed in the sternum, but she and her unborn child are OK, WSOC-TV reported.
Following the seemingly random attack, CMPD released surveillance video of the suspect, later identified as Butler, and a “Be On The Lookout” for her vehicle.
On Monday, a Florida State Highway Patrol trooper spotted a silver Hyundai traveling south on I-95.
The trooper pulled Butler over on I-95 and she gave him an ID card instead of a license and when asked why, she said her license was suspended, WSOC-TV reported. The trooper provided the name of the woman he pulled over to another trooper who confirmed she was the suspect in the Cotswold stabbing.
Butler was arrested on charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery on an unborn child. She is being held in the Flagler County Jail until she is extradited to Mecklenburg County.
According to arrest records reviewed by Fox News Digital, Butler has a lengthy criminal history.
Records show she has nine prior convictions — six felonies and three misdemeanors — largely tied to theft-related offenses, along with more recent felony convictions for firearm possession and misconduct while in custody.
She was most recently released from prison in April 2025 and completed post-release supervision in January 2026.
