A quick-thinking 12-year-old girl in Florida survived her own mother’s attempt to murder her by playing dead, outsmarting the woman who had just brutally stabbed her in the neck.
At a Glance
- A 12-year-old Florida girl survived a knife attack from her mother, Gwendolyn Girard, by playing dead after suffering multiple stab wounds.
- The mother allegedly said she was killing her daughter to prevent others from taking custody.
- The injured child escaped after her mother left and flagged down a truck for help.
- Girard was arrested and charged with aggravated battery and child abuse, with bond set at $750,000.
- Charlotte County Sheriff called it one of the most disturbing cases of his career.
Mother Turns on Daughter During Photography Outing
What started as an ordinary day became a harrowing ordeal when Gwendolyn Girard allegedly tried to murder her 12-year-old daughter during a photography trip to the Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area. After eating at a Culver’s restaurant, Girard drove the girl to a remote area, where she pinned her down and attempted to stab her in the heart. The child fought back, sustaining defensive wounds that later supported her testimony to police.
Watch a report: Child survives attack by playing dead.
Girard allegedly told her daughter that “everyone was trying to kill [her] and take custody of her, so [she] was going to kill her first so that no one else can.” This delusional reasoning preceded a neck stabbing and an attempt to drag the girl to water. When that failed, Girard buried her under brush and fled.
Quick Thinking Saves Child’s Life
In an extraordinary act of survival, the girl pretended to be dead. “She said she fought her mother off as long as she could, and then she played dead, and then her mom left her there,” confirmed her grandmother. Girard checked on her twice before assuming her daughter had died and leaving the scene.
When certain her mother was gone, the girl crawled out from under the debris and flagged down a passing truck. Sheriff’s deputies responding to the scene found her with serious cuts to her face and neck. She is now in stable condition and provided vital details about the attack.
Justice for a Heinous Crime
Girard was soon found in Lee County, confessed to the attack, and directed police to the weapon’s location. She now faces charges of aggravated battery with great bodily harm and aggravated child abuse, and remains held on $750,000 bond. While these charges fall short of attempted murder, authorities may escalate them as the case develops.
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell called it one of the most shocking cases of his 33-year career, saying, “It is only by God’s grace that she is still with us today.” The community now rallies behind a girl whose courage and instincts saved her from an unthinkable fate—at the hands of her own mother.
