‘Can't understand it': Mom attacks 12-year-old girl with knife, leaving her under bush, sheriff says
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PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WJW) — Detectives report a Florida woman confessed to stabbing her 12-year-old daughter in the face and neck, leaving her barely alive under some shrubs on Memorial Day.
According to a news release from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, 35-year-old Gwendolyn Girard, 35, was arrested on aggravated battery and child abuse charges following her alleged confession.
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'In my 33-year career, there are only a handful of times that I have been left speechless. This is one of those times. To attack a child with a knife… I can't understand it,' Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement.
Multiple local outlets, including WINK, confirmed Girard was the girl's mother and that the girl played dead in order to survive the attack that took place at Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area, according to court documents.
Deputies said they were called to the recreational area by passersby who had found the girl with stab wounds and weak. They spoke to the girl who identified the attacker as Girard and said she drove off in a gold van.
Girard and her vehicle were found in Lee County, where she was taken in for questioning and eventually arrested, the sheriff's office said.
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The girl is reportedly in stable condition following treatment at a hospital.
Girard appeared in court for the first time Thursday. Her bond was set at $750,000, according to the sheriff's office.
'It is only by God's grace that she is still with us today, and I pray for her as she heals from this horrific incident,' Prummell said of the girl. 'Unfortunately, the mental trauma inflicted on her may never heal.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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