A man who attacked hikers on the Appalachian Trail with a machete has been found not guilty by reason of insanity

• A man who killed a hiker with a machete has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

• The grisly attack on the Appalachian Trail made headlines in 2019 after one victim survived by playing dead.

• James Jordan, 32, will be committed to a psychiatric facility until he no longer poses a threat.

• For more stories, visit the Insider homepage.

A Massachusetts man who carried out a grisly machete attack on a group of hikers on the Appalachian Trail has been found not guilty by reason of insanity and will remain in a mental health facility until he no longer poses a danger to others, court documents show.

The attack made headlines in May 2019 after 32-year-old James Jordan fatally stabbed 43-year-old Ronald Sanchez Jr., seriously injuring a woman who only survived by playing dead and then walking six miles, to call for help.

Jordan was ultimately charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and three counts of assault.

The bloody attack began on May 11, 2019, after Sanchez and three other hikers set up camp in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. According to the criminal complaint, Jordan approached the group’s tents “disturbed and unstable” and even threatened to pour gasoline on their tents and burn them.

The group packed up to leave, the complaint says, but Jordan confronted them with his gun. Two of the hikers ran, but Sanchez and the hiker stayed behind at the campsite.

Jordan soon began arguing with Sanchez and then stabbed him. The hiker ran, but when she got tired, Jordan caught up with her and started stabbing her too. According to the complaint, he didn’t stop until she played dead. From there, the woman met another pair of hikers who helped her walk six miles into Smyth County to call for help.

Jordan entered into an agreement with federal prosecutors on April 15 in which he admitted the conduct he was accused of and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

A federal judge accepted that plea on April 22, ruling that Jordan had failed to demonstrate “that his release would not pose a substantial risk of physical harm to another.” The judge ordered that Jordan remain in custody “until he recovers from his mental illness or defect to such an extent that his release or conditional release would no longer pose a substantial risk of physical harm to another.”

In a victim impact statement, the woman who stabbed Jordan said she was “haunted” not only by Jordan’s actions, but by her own.

“I watched and listened helplessly and almost in disbelief as Mr. Jordan transformed before my eyes from a confused, confused man into a violent animal,” she wrote. “I saw him attack and murder a good, kind man… and I hear Ron’s voice. I hear him scream. And I keep hearing him in my head asking me to wait for him.”

She pleaded with the judge to “use all the power you have to still keep this man under wraps.”

She continued: “Stop him from harming anyone else. He has shown himself to be an unwavering threat to those around him, and I cannot bear the thought of him doing to anyone else what he did to me. And Ron.”

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