Wilkinsburg woman accused of stabbing 2 co-workers ordered to stand trial

A Wilkinsburg woman was ordered Tuesday to stand trial on charges she stabbed two co-workers, including one who police said accused her of stealing money from a woman with autism for whom they provided care.

Unek Magwood, 27, faces charges including two counts each of attempted homicide and recklessly endangering another person, four counts of aggravated assault and single counts of burglary, robbery, unlawful restraint and criminal trespassing, court records show.

At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, three charges — single counts of recklessly endangering another person, fleeing police and escape — were withdrawn.

Magwood is being held without bail in Allegheny County Jail, court records show.

A criminal complaint filed in the case said that on July 21, Magwood, then suspended from her job, confronted a co-worker who arrived at an East Liberty home to care for the woman with autism. Magwood, who was holding something “suspiciously behind her back,” had been suspended while her company investigated allegations that she stole money from the woman with autism, the complaint said.

Magwood forced her co-worker to drive her to pick up a second co-worker, who had made the allegations against Magwood, the complaint said.

They picked up the second co-worker and then drove back to the East Liberty home. The complaint said Magwood confronted the second co-worker there, stabbing her in the arm before that co-worker ran away and barricaded herself and the woman with autism in a separate room.

After Magwood was unable to kick down a door to get to that co-worker, she went after the first co-worker, the complaint said. Magwood tried to stab her in the face, but the co-worker lifted her arms to protect herself and was stabbed in the arm, the complaint said. She ran to a nearby office and called 911.

Magwood tried to flee when police arrived but was taken into custody without incident, the complaint said.

The second co-worker’s arm was “bleeding heavily” when police arrived, the complaint said. She was taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in critical condition and rushed into the operating room.

Doctors told police that the woman suffered a stab wound to the left triceps that was about 5 inches long and 2 inches deep, the complaint said. An artery had been severed, resulting in serious blood loss, and doctors said the injury would likely leave “long-lasting mobility limitations and nerve damage.”

The first co-worker suffered a laceration to her right forearm and was treated at the scene by paramedics, police said.

The woman with autism was not injured.

Attorney Frank Walker, who represents Magwood, did not respond to multiple calls for comment.