19-year-old daughter stabs dad over religious greeting on Easter, WA officials say

A 19-year-old was arrested after being accused of attacking her parents with a knife over an Easter greeting, Washington officials said.

On April 20, officers arrived at a Vancouver home where McKenzy Hafer and her parents, Benjamin Hafer and Erin Hetzler, live, officials told KATU.

Officers learned the attack came after Hafer’s father told her “Happy Resurrection Day,” to which she replied that she didn’t believe in God, officials told KPTV.

Hafer eventually said the greeting back to her father but later grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the stomach “with the intent to kill him,” court documents obtained by KOIN stated.

Her mother started yelling at her and that’s when Hafer cut her throat with the knife, officials told KOIN. Both parents sustained injuries.

McClatchy News reached out to officials for more information on April 23 and was awaiting a response.

McKenzy Hafer was arrested outside the home on two charges of second-degree attempted murder, KATU reported.

Vancouver is about a 170-mile drive southwest from Seattle.

This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 12:34 PM with the headline "19-year-old daughter stabs dad over religious greeting on Easter, WA officials say."