Girl whose throat was slashed faces attacker in court: 'I didn't want to go to sleep'

FOX 2 - The 74-year-old man police say slashed a little girl's throat in an attack at a Detroit park learned his fate on Thursday.

Gary Lansky was sentenced to 7 to 15 years in prison as part of an agreement - pleading guilty but mentally ill to assault with intent to murder and felonious assault.

The backstory:

Lansky attacked 7-year-old Saida Mashrah at Ryan Park on Oct. 8 of 2024, slashing her throat and tried to puncture her stomach with a pocket knife.

The girl, who spoke in court today, required three stitches in her neck. At the scene when it took place, witnesses jumped in and intervened, holding Lansky until police arrived.

"I feel scared, nervous, and after this accident happened to me, I didn't want to go to sleep and I didn't want to go to the park and I didn't want to do anything," she said. "I felt like I was stuck in the house not doing anything. Just playing with my toys and watching TV, not doing anything.

"I felt like if I go outside somebody would try to take me in their van. I feel like if I went outside someone would try to drag me ... kill me."

At that point, her voice trailed off as she fought back tears on the witness stand.

A statement was read on behalf of her mother, Madihayad Mashrah, who was too overcome with emotion to speak before the court. She spoke about the nightmares that Saida suffers from nightly.

"Since that day, nothing has been the same," she said in the letter. "My daughter still smiles sometimes, but it's not the same smile. It is the kind of smile that hides tears. Behind it she is broken inside.

"I try to be strong for her but every night when I hear her crying I break a little inside, too."  

Lansky, 74. who suffers from mental illness, offered a brief apology to the court.

"I'd like to say how sorry I am to the family for what I've done," he said.

Related: 'Just came out of nowhere': 73-year-old man slashes 7-year-old girl at Detroit park

Police investigated whether the stabbing was a hate crime, but did not find evidence that the girl was targeted because of her ethnicity.

Lansky faced additional charges for domestic violence against his wife, before the attack. He faced additional charges for domestic violence against his wife, before this attack.

He was arrested for domestic violence against his wife and her sister in April, 2024 – but the victim refused to prosecute, so the warrant request was denied.