Florida — A Florida woman is behind bars after allegedly stabbing a 12-year-old girl in the face and neck before attempting to hide the body in a nature preserve while the victim was still alive.
Gwendolyn Girard, 35, is accused of aggravated battery and child abuse. Deputies from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office responded Monday afternoon to the Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area in Punta Gorda after bystanders discovered the girl with stab wounds.
When deputies arrived, she was “weak and in need of immediate medical attention,” according to a press release from the agency.
The victim told deputies that Girard attacked her and left her in the brush before driving away in a gold van.
Cops tracked the van and Girard to a location in North Fort Myers, where they questioned the woman and processed the vehicle.
Detectives interviewed the suspect, who reportedly admitted to stabbing the girl and provided the location of the knife used in the attack.
Authorities have not provided information about Girard’s relationship with the victim. The probable cause arrest affidavit was not available as of Tuesday afternoon.
“In my 33-year career, only a few times have I been left speechless. “This is one of those times,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement. “I don’t understand why someone would attack a child with a knife.”
She is only with us today because of God’s grace, and I pray for her as she recovers from this horrific incident. Unfortunately, the mental trauma she has experienced may never fully heal.”
Girard was arrested and taken to the Charlotte County Jail, where she is held on a $750,000 bond. She did not have an attorney listed. The girl was last listed as in stable condition.
