On Sept. 28, 36-year-old Kamilia Chadli appeared in King County Superior Court and was ordered to undergo a competency evaluation in connection with a Sept. 18 downtown Seattle assault. Prosecutors charged Chadli with second-degree assault after authorities say she bit a roughly one-inch circle of skin from Diana Gonzalez’s forehead; Gonzalez required a skin graft and will have a permanent scar. The judge kept Chadli jailed on $150,000 bail and set the next hearing for Oct. 13. Prosecutors have not filed a separate hate crime charge at this time.
Seattle Woman Charged With Biting Stranger’s Forehead Ordered To Undergo Competency Evaluation
Image Credit: KCPAO.
A 36-year-old Seattle woman accused of biting a roughly one-inch circle of skin from a stranger’s forehead appeared in King County Superior Court on Sept. 28 and was ordered to undergo a competency evaluation before her felony assault case proceeds.
Kamilia Chadli is charged with second-degree assault for an alleged Sept. 18 attack on Diana Gonzalez in downtown Seattle near Third Avenue and Marion Street. Judge Nelson Lee granted the defense request for a competency evaluation after Chadli’s attorney reviewed case materials and spoke with the defendant. The case is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 13.
Chadli remains jailed on $150,000 bail. Seattle police initially referred the investigation for possible felony assault and a hate crime, but prosecutors have not filed a hate crime charge as of the Sept. 28 hearing. Prosecutors noted that a hate crime is a separate offense under Washington law and could be added later if evidence meets the legal standard.
According to police and witness accounts, the encounter began about 3:45 p.m. as Gonzalez walked to a convenience store near her workplace. Gonzalez told officers a stranger first threw a food wrapper at her, then used racist and homophobic language — including calling her "the inferior race" — before spitting on her, forcing her to the ground and biting her forehead.
While both women were on the ground, police say the attacker bit and removed a circular piece of skin about an inch across. A nearby worker, identified in reports as Williams Arginal, a valet at the Arctic Hotel, intervened, separated the women and followed the attacker until a King County marshal was flagged down. Officers later found Gonzalez bleeding heavily and discovered a piece of flesh in a grate near the scene. Gonzalez identified Chadli and she was arrested that day.
"I think we could use a lot more people that are looking out for each other when they see something going wrong," Detective Shane Weatherford told KIRO, praising the bystander who intervened.
Seattle Fire personnel evaluated Gonzalez at the scene before she was transported to Harborview Medical Center. She underwent a skin graft to close the wound; prosecutors say the injury will leave a permanent scar. "I can't believe she bit a piece of my face off," Gonzalez told KOMO, describing the loss of skin as the most shocking part of the attack.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office confirmed the second-degree assault charge and reiterated that a hate crime charge is separate and may be added later if evidence supports it. Judge Lee ordered the competency evaluation but left Chadli’s release conditions unchanged; she remains in custody on $150,000 bail.
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