Ex-Indiana U. Student's Lawyer Says He's Horrified by Attack

A former Indiana University student who police say shouted racial slurs and tried to remove a Muslim woman's headscarf while attacking her was "highly intoxicated" and did not target the woman because of her religion, the man's attorney said Friday.

Defense attorney Katharine Liell said 19-year-old Triceten Bickford was drunk and may have had medical issues when he attacked the woman Oct. 17 as she sat at an outdoor cafe table with her 9-year-old daughter.

Liell said the Fort Wayne, Indiana, man is "horrified" by accounts of that attack and is grateful the 47-year-old woman wasn't badly hurt.

"First and foremost he's absolutely horrified by what people said he did that evening. He was so upset when he was informed of what the witnesses indicated he did that he became physically ill. He's not that kind of kid," she said.

Bickford has been charged with multiple felony charges, including intimidation, strangulation and battery, in the attack outside a Turkish cafe in Bloomington, about 50 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

He was scheduled to appear for an initial hearing Friday in a Monroe County court but Liell waived that hearing on behalf of Bickford, who faces a Nov. 30 pretrial conference. Not guilty pleas are automatic in Indiana felony cases.

A probable cause affidavit indicates Bickford emerged from a nearby alley shouting "white power," anti-black racial slurs and "kill the police" and then attacked the woman outside the cafe.

Bickford grabbed the woman by the neck and forced her head forward, restricting her breathing as he tried to remove her hijab, a headscarf worn by Muslim women, the affidavit states. The woman did not seek medical treatment afterward.

Bickford was expelled from IU on Monday and the FBI has opened a hate crime investigation into the incident.

Liell said her client doesn't "know the difference between a hoodie and a hijab" and "there's absolutely no evidence that this was a religious hate crime."

"We believe the evidence will show that she was not targeted, nor chosen," Liell said.

Bickford told WTHR-TV in Indianapolis earlier this week that he was sorry for the attack but had no memory of the incident. He said a combination of drinking alcohol and not taking his anti-anxiety medication caused him to snap.

Liell said she would be looking into whether Bickford may not have taken medications, or had some medical issues.