by April Scheinoha
Editor
A second mental illness/cognitive impairment evaluation has been ordered in the case of a Thief River Falls woman accused of attempted murder.
Edwina Marie Stoutenburgh, 34, has been charged with felony offenses of attempted second degree murder without intent and second degree assault.
Stoutenburgh is accused of attempting to cut a sleeping boy’s throat; however, the knife was too dull to slice his throat. She sharpened the knife and planned to return to his room, but she didn’t return. The boy had apparent marks on his neck. The complaint didn’t indicate the boy’s age.
At the request of Stoutenburgh’s attorneys, on Nov. 7, Judge Tamara Yon ordered an in-person evaluation of Stoutenburgh. Dr. Craig Stevens recently conducted the evaluation.
During a court hearing Tuesday, Dec. 9, Assistant Pennington County Attorney Ashley A. Nelson requested a second mental illness/cognitive impairment evaluation, citing “a concern with what appears to be some inconsistencies related to the opinions required under Minn. R. of Crim. P. 20.02.” She requested that Dr. Tricia Sudenga conduct the in-person evaluation. Nelson said Sudenga expected to have her report completed no later than Feb. 10.
In her written motion, Nelson also requested copies of any notes that Stevens had taken “during his conversations with any witnesses to the state pursuant to the rules of criminal procedure; the state will then, in turn, disclose them to the defendant.” Yon granted Nelson’s motion.
The charges stemmed from a July 20 report to the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, according to the complaint. Upon arriving at the scene in Pennington County, deputies encountered several juveniles inside a vehicle. Deputies determined the kids were safe and then proceeded to the home, where they encountered Stoutenburgh “standing outside in very little clothing.” Given the nature of the call, deputies handcuffed her, leading Stoutenburgh to say “don’t take them off.” Several times, she allegedly said “‘they’ made her do various things.” It was later determined that Stoutenburgh was referring to demons. She was taken to Sanford Medical Center.
Once at the emergency room, Stoutenburgh allegedly said she awoke to demons inside of her taking over her body. The demons, which were named bondage and infirmity, told her to eat a piece of dog feces and an eye of a deceased duck that had to be put down a day earlier. She said it was disgusting to eat both of those things.
Saying she didn’t want to hurt the kids, Stoutenburgh allegedly said “‘they’ made her grab a knife from the kitchen” and go to the boy’s upstairs bedroom. She rolled the sleeping boy over in order to slice his throat with the same knife used on the duck. Stoutenburgh said she moved his head and made contact with his neck. However, the knife was too dull and “they” told her to sharpen the knife. She indicated that “they” wanted her to drink the boy’s blood, kill the rest of the kids, kill her husband when he arrived home from work, and then kill herself.
Stoutenburgh then sharpened the knife, but she stopped in the stairwell. The kids had become disturbed by what was happening. She allegedly said “‘they’ made her tell the children she was going to kill them, too.” Stoutenburgh tried to drop the knife, but she was unable to do so. She also showed the kids the decapitated duck. Stoutenburgh told the kids that they needed to leave and gave them the keys to a vehicle.
Stoutenburgh told law enforcement that “this is the first time she has heard these voices for this long” and she was unable to control them. She said she never wanted to hurt the kids in the past. Stoutenburgh thought that they were all going to die.
Stoutenburgh’s husband gave his consent for law enforcement to search the property. They allegedly found a severed duck’s head on a cutting board next to a bloodied spoon. The kitchen sink contained a chef’s knife with apparent blood.
Her husband allegedly told deputies that he received a frantic phone call from Stoutenburgh, saying “‘they’ were taking over her body and telling her to kill the children.” He then called the sheriff’s office.