Pregnant Woman Stabbed in Grocery Store Parking Lot
A woman was reportedly stabbed by a repeat offender in North Carolina as she was taking her child out of a car. Authorities identified the suspect as Marvina Butler Hardy, who allegedly attacked the expectant mother outside a Harris Teeter in the Cotswolds on March 18.
The injuries sustained by the pregnant woman are not life-threatening, and she is anticipated to make a complete recovery.
Investigators believe the incident was random; the victim and the attacker reportedly had no prior relationship or interaction.
According to police, it was around 11:30 a.m. when Butler approached the 38-year-old at the grocery store. The victim shared her experience with local media, noting that while she was focused on getting her toddler from the vehicle, Butler emerged, taunted her, and assaulted her with a knife.
“I was facing her to get the toddler out of the seat and thankfully I turned around and she was coming at me with a steak knife,” the victim explained under a condition of anonymity. She recounted how she instinctively pushed, kicked, and screamed, which seemed to deter Butler.
Although she suffered a stab wound to the sternum, both she and her unborn child are reported to be safe.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released surveillance footage to identify the suspect and her vehicle.
On Monday, officers from the Florida Highway Patrol observed a silver Hyundai driving south on Interstate 95.
When the officer pulled over Butler, she provided an ID card instead of a driver’s license, claiming her license was suspended. Further checks confirmed her identity as the suspect in the stabbing incident.
Butler was arrested on charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery of an unborn child. She is currently being held in the Flagler County Jail awaiting extradition to Mecklenburg County.
Notably, Butler has a lengthy criminal record, including nine prior convictions, primarily for theft and more recent felony charges relating to firearm possession and custodial misconduct. She was released from prison in April 2025 and completed post-release supervision in January 2026.
