On the Afternoon of Monday, May 26, 2025 passers by made a desperate 911 call from the Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area in Punta Gorda, Florida. A 12 year old girl had been found in the woods bleeding heavily from multiple stab wounds to her face and neck. Deputies with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office arrived quickly and found her weak, barely clinging to life. She was rushed to a local hospital and um, later stabilized.

Welcome to Love and Heartbreak to Homicide. We’re Kai’s AI co hosts Jensen, Jessica and Gein, here to bring you another Florida Man Friday case. These aren’t just stories. They’re real lives, real people whose stories deserve to be heard.

If you want to help us keep giving victims a voice, join us over on Patreon patreon.com loveandmurder this podcast is listener funded and sponsored by My LaMs. In that group you can join for free and get some extra perks or become part of a bonus tier for ad free episodes, bonus cases and the Deadly Duos series, all while standing with us as a voice of the victim. In the latest bonus episode of Deadly Duos, Kai tells you the case of Erika and Benjamin Siffret, lovers who became horrific killers, turning a vacation into a brutal double murder with a bathroom covered in blood. Patreon.com loveandmurder now let’s get back to your Florida Man Friday case. Side note, this case is a very short one, but still very sad and needs to be told.

The girl told deputies that her mother, 35 year old Gwendolyn Girard, had driven her out to the preserve, pushed her to the ground and pinned her with a knee before stabbing her again and again. When it was over, she said Gwendolen dragged her under a pile of brush, left her bloodied, hidden and discarded and drove away. Somehow, the girl pretended to be dead until Gwendolen was gone. Only then did she crawl out from the brush and flag down strangers who called for help. Her grandmother later told reporters she fought.

Her mother off as long as she could and then she played dead. And then her mom left her there.

The victim, whose name has not been released, was described as brave and resilient. Incredibly, she survived her mother’s attempt on her life and is now recovering. Though the psychological scars will last far longer than the physical ones. Sheriff Bill Prummel admitted the crime left him stunned.

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 is Only by God’s mercy that she is still with us today and I have hope for her as she heals from this horrific incident. Unfortunately, the mental trauma inflicted on her may never heal.

Detectives immediately began tracking Gwendolyn and witnesses reported seeing her leave the preserve in a gold colored van. Within hours, deputies located the van and Gwendolyn in North Fort Myers, 22 miles away. On Tuesday, May 27, she was arrested and later admitted to stabbing her daughter, even telling police where they could find the knife. She was booked on charges that included aggravated battery, causing great bodily harm or disability, aggravated battery on a child, and um, aggravated child abuse. She was transferred to Charlotte county and is currently being held in jail on a $750,000 bond. Court records show that on June 30, 2025, Gwendolyn appeared before a judge and entered a not guilty plea. But her case took another turn when her defence requested a mental competency evaluation. The judge ordered three doctors to assess whether she is capable of understanding the charges and assisting in her defence. In Florida, this kind of hearing determines if a defendant goes through trial or is instead committed to a mental health facility. As trial attorney Daniel Garza explained, evaluators.

Look for signs of whether someone is feigning competency, whether they can understand the roles of the judge, prosecutor and defense attorney, and whether they grasp the nature of the charges.

By July 22, a uh, status hearing was held to check on the competency evaluation. As of late August 2025, Gwendolyn is still awaiting the outcome of that court ordered assessment. Until then, she remains in custody. And, um, since the case is still ongoing, everything that’s said here is alleged.

What do you think of this case? I want to ask if you think this is a case of mental health issues, but there’s not enough information for us to make an informed hypothes. In the meantime, Kai found some comments from around the web about this case and we’ll read them out to you. But first, how do you feel about us reading these comments? Do you want us to continue doing it? Is it adding more depth to the episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. While these are just random comments from around the web, Kai will continue reading the lam’s comments periodically during the Monday episodes.

Now, the first comment that Kai found said, why is she not charged with attempted murder, only aggravated battery and child abuse? She tried to kill her own daughter. The next comment says, what on earth is she smiling about? This woman needs to be imprisoned. Side note, this comment is talking about Gwendolin’s mugshot where she’s smiling. Kai does have this mugshot in the Patreon. Part of the bonus is starting at the three dollar tier. The next comment says the mom looks a bit deranged. Moms protect their children. What makes a woman snap like this? That poor girl will have a lifetime of trauma. And the final commentor said, oh my God, I just read the first story of that South African mom who sold her six year old baby to a healer for her eyes and now this. Come on people, we gotta do better than these cases. Bring back death penalty or something.

Kai actually wrote up that case with the South African mom and we retold the story. It was the case of Raquel Kelly Smith and you can find the link to that episode in the show notes below.

In the meantime, let Kai know what you think of this case. I agree with some of the comments that were shocked at the charges based on Gwendolyn’s mugshot. I am wondering if she does have mental health issues. I don’t want to speculate though without any evidence. Anyway, that’s all we have for you today. Don’t forget to go and check out the Patreon where you can subscribe for free or or choose one of our bonus tiers. Thank you for listening all the way to the end. Thanks for your support and see you in the next case.