West Hartford Police have charged a husband and wife in the double stabbing that took place on April 22, 2015, at the 1001 Arabian Nights Hookah Lounge on Park Road.

George Ayoub (left) and Najeh Frehi have both been charged in an April 22 stabbing. Courtesy of West Hartford Police

By Ronni Newton

The owner of the 1001 Arabian Nights Hookah Lounge and his wife were both arrested Friday in conjunction with the April 22 double stabbing that West Hartford Police are calling a “domestic incident.”

According to police, George Ayoub, 47, of Farmington, who is listed as the owner of 1001 Arabian Nights, has been charged with first-degree “assault of an elderly, blind, disabled, intellectually disabled or pregnant person.”

Najeh Frehi, 24, who is married to Ayoub, has been charged with first-degree assault, police said.

According to West Hartford Police Capt. Donald Melanson, Frehi is pregnant.

A sword, which was found on the premises, was used to inflict the stabbings, police said. Melanson said that the sword “was at the lounge as a decoration.”

Both Ayoub and Frehi were wounded and both were admitted to St. Francis Hospital as a result of the incident. Ayoub was intially in critical condition with life-threatening injuries to his abdomen and underwent several surgeries. He was released from the hospital earlier this week, Melanson said.

Frehi was also admitted to the hospital, with serious injuries to her shoulders and hands, but was released the following day.

Melanson could not comment on the motive for the stabbings, but said that “the disagreement between the two was ongoing.”

Ayoub was being held on a $1,000,000 bond and scheduled to be arraigned at Hartford Superior Court Friday, police said.

Frehi was in custody with bond set at $100,000, and also set to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Friday.

Police were initially notified of the incident when Ayoub called 911 at 3:17 a.m. on April 22 and informed dispatchers that he had been stabbed by his wife.

As police were on their way to 134 Park Rd., where Ayoub was located, Frehi was discovered outside of 96 Park Rd. “suffering from serious stab wounds to her shoulders and lacerations to her hands,” police said in a news release. Several officers began medical treatment for Frehi while others went to 134 Park Rd.

According to police, Ayoub was still on the phone with dispatchers when they arrived. The business was closed and the door was locked, but officers said they “observed Ayoub through the front glass windows in obvious distress.” Ayoub was not able to reach the door to unlock it due to his injuries, police said, so they gained entry by breaking out the glass in the front door.

The sword was found at the scene.