A Florida woman is in jail after stabbing a 12-year-old girl in Punta Gorda and attempting to hide the body, though the victim was still alive, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office reported. Gwendolyn Girard, 35, is accused of attacking the victim with a knife on May 26 and leaving her under the brush at the Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area in Punta Gorda. Bystanders found the girl with cuts to her face and neck and alerted authorities. Deputies found the victim, who was able to identify her attacker, weak and in immediate need of medical attention, the sheriff's office said. The victim told deputies Girard left in a gold-colored van. Girard and the van were found in North Fort Myers by Lee County Sheriff's deputies. According to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Girard gave a full confession, including the location of the knife used in the attack. Girard is charged with aggravated battery and aggravated child abuse and is being held in the Lee County jail on a $750,000 bond as she awaits extradition to Charlotte County. “In my 33-year career, there are only a handful of times that I have been left speechless," Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said. "This is one of those times. To attack a child with a knife… I can’t understand it. 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. Unfortunately, the mental trauma inflicted on her may never heal.” The victim was treated for her wounds and reportedly is in stable condition.
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