WILLMAR -- A Willmar woman accused of stabbing her husband during a psychotic episode was found incompetent to stand trial Wednesday.
A doctor recommended that Bridget Renee Goodwin, 51, shouldn't stand trial, as she wouldn't understand the proceedings.
Dr. Edmund Nadolny, a doctor hired by Kandiyohi County District Court to assess the mental health of Goodwin, found she suffers from "established paranoid schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations, confusion and delusions." He recommended she be placed at the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter.
The Kandiyohi County Attorney's office indicated Wednesday that they will start civil commitment proceedings for Goodwin.
Officers with the Willmar Police Department were called to Goodwin's home just after 1 p.m. Dec. 2. Upon arriving, they observed Willmar Ambulance personnel escorting Michael Goodwin, 49, from the scene. As they walked toward the house, the 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 to 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 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. She refused to eat the food, 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 proceeded to stab 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 faced one count of second-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault and one count of domestic assault.
If in the future she is found to be competent, she can be tried on these charges, according to Kandiyohi County Attorney Boyd Beccue.
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Wednesday, Judge Michael Thompson suspended court proceedings while the county pursues commitment.
