WILLMAR -- A Willmar woman accused of stabbing her husband multiple times Friday afternoon made her first court appearance Monday.
Judge John Lindstrom ordered a mental health evaluation of Bridget Renee Goodwin, 50, during the hearing. Goodwin allegedly stabbed her husband several times with a kitchen knife.
Goodwin, who showed signs of serious mental illness during her court appearance Monday, has schizophrenia according to court documents.
Willmar Police were called to Goodwin's home just after 1 p.m. Friday.
Upon arriving, officers observed Willmar Ambulance taking Michael Goodwin, 49, from the scene. As they walked toward the house, officers observed blood on the front steps and sidewalk. Blood was also discovered inside the front porch, the complaint says.
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A woman then came out of the front door covered in blood, the complaint says.
She identified herself as "Mary Magdalene," and was later identified as Bridget Goodwin, the complaint says. She was arrested at the scene.
According to the complaint, officers entered the home and discovered a pool of blood in the kitchen and a bloody knife in the kitchen sink.
In an interview, Michael Goodwin told police he purchased some TV dinners and tried to get his wife to eat with him. He also told her she should take better care of herself, he told police. She refused to eat the dinner, so he told her to put it in the refrigerator, the complaint says. She then went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, about 8 inches in length, from a drawer. Michael Goodwin told police she then stabbed him in the neck area. He said they struggled as he tried to get the knife away from her. She then stabbed him multiple times, he said, and told him he'd never get out of the house alive.
He was able to run out of the house and flag down a car.
He said he and his wife hadn't argued prior to the attack and believed she hadn't been taking her medications.
She was later interviewed by police, during which she made several delusional statements.
Bridget Goodwin faces one count of second-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault and one count of domestic assault.
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Judge Lindstrom set no bail and ordered that she be held for a mental evaluation.
In a mental health evaluation, a psychologist will try to determine whether the person is capable of understanding court proceedings. A civil commitment due to mental health is sometimes the outcome of such an evaluation.
