Subway attack unearths past tragedy for Claremont mother and young daughter
Thema Williams and her daughter, Alayah Cole, haven’t stepped on a train since Thursday, May 22 – a morning they say changed their lives.
A Claremont mother and her 8-year-old daughter are recovering after an attack on a Bronx subway train – an incident that has resurfaced painful memories of a past family tragedy.
Thema Williams and her daughter, Alayah Cole, haven’t stepped on a train since Thursday, May 22 – a morning they say changed their lives.
The two were riding the D train to the 205th Street station, where Alayah goes to school, when a woman approached them in an empty subway car.
“I thought she was asking for change or something,” Williams said.
But what happened next is something she never expected. Police say the woman, later identified as Jenett Powell, suddenly grabbed Alayah.
“She grabbed my daughter by her hair, tried to put her in a chokehold and I immediately went crazy,” Williams said.
Williams was injured while prying Powell’s grip from her daughter’s hair.
“At that point, we were just fighting for our lives,” she said.
The traumatic experience resurfaced heartbreak for the family. Alayah’s uncle, Charles Moore, was fatally stabbed in a 2022 subway attack on a Bronx 4 train.
“For her to know she lost her uncle this way, and now to face the same kind of danger just commuting, it’s a lot,” Williams said.
Since the assault, Alayah has been experiencing nightmares in which she sees her attacker in her bedroom, she said.
“The feeling is going to be forever. This is not something that will just go away not for me, and more importantly, not for my daughter,” Williams said.
Powell was arrested at the station and charged with assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child. But Williams said the arrest is only a small step toward helping her daughter begin to heal.
