© 2025. The Trustees of Indiana University
Copyright Complaints
1229 East Seventh Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47405
News, Arts and Culture from WFIU Public Radio and WTIU Public Television
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The Magic Is Ours to Keep. Support Public Media Today
Some web content from Indiana Public Media is unavailable during our transition to a new web publishing platform. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Bloomington woman charged with stabbing 18-year-old says attack racially motivated

Billie Davis is accused of stabbing an Asian Indiana University student in January.
Billie Davis is accused of stabbing an Asian Indiana University student in January.

This story has been updated.

A Bloomington woman is in custody after allegedly stabbing an 18-year-old woman in the head multiple times Wednesday afternoon. 

Billie Davis, 56, was initially charged with battery, but those charges were raised to attempted murder after investigators reviewed the victim’s wounds at the hospital and watched camera footage, according to a Bloomington police news release. 

The victim told officers that she was exiting the Bloomington Transit bus on 4th Street at the B-Line Trail when another passenger began striking her in the head repeatedly. The other passenger left and began walking toward Kirkwood. 

Officers responded at 4:45 p.m. They said one witness followed Davis on foot and provided updates on her whereabouts to the police. 

According to the probable cause affidavit obtained from the Monroe County Prosecutor's office, Davis told officers that she stabbed the victim because she appeared "Chinese" and that her intent was to kill, saying, "it would be one less person to blow up our country."

Police said footage showed Davis and the victim had no interactions prior to the stabbing.

Court records show Davis' attorney is seeking an insanity defense.

Davis is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial hearing on Feb. 16 at Monroe Circuit Court.

Ethan Sandweiss is a multimedia journalist for Indiana Public Media. He has previously worked with KBOO News as an anchor, producer, and reporter. Sandweiss was raised in Bloomington and graduated from Reed College with a degree in History.