Mount Holyoke College Professor Charged With Attempted Murder

Rie Hachiyanagi, a professor of art at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, is facing a wide range of charges including attempted murder.

Professor Hachiyanagi has been accused of attacking another faculty member with a rock, a fireplace poker, and garden shears. The attack allegedly took place in the victim’s home in Leverett, Massachusetts. The victim received several puncture wounds to her head and face and suffered several bone fractures.

Professor Hachiyanagi, who has a history of memory loss resulting from a major automobile incident, told police she did not remember what had happened but had found the victim in a pool of blood. After being taken to the hospital, the victim told police that Professor Hachiyanagi was the attacker.

Professor Hachiyanagi was also charged with three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, mayhem, and armed assault in a dwelling. She is being held without bail at the Franklin County House of Correction.

A native of Japan, Professor Hachiyanago came to the United States as an exchange student in Kansas. She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at the University of Iowa and a master of fine arts degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before joining the faculty at Mout Holyoke College in 2004, Professor Hachiyanagi taught at Alfred University in New York.