Posted on 07/14/2005 1:35:00 PM PDT by knak
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- An Idaho woman blamed mental illness and substance abuse as she pleaded guilty to scalping a teenage girl, saying she only intended to give her a haircut.
Marianne Dahle, 26, of Caldwell, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery before 4th District Judge Kathryn Sticklen on Wednesday, the day her trial was to begin. Sentencing has not yet been set, and Dahle could face up to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Dahle tied up a 15-year-old Nampa girl -- who has been identified publicly only by the first name of Sheila -- on Jan. 18 and used a 4-inch knife to cut away the entire crown and back portion of her scalp. The attack happened at Kirkham Hot Springs, 70 miles northeast of Boise, where Dahle had invited Sheila and a 16-year-old female acquaintance to soak in the pools of warm water and party.
Investigators said they believe Dahle and Sheila were part of a clique of young female "punkers" who wore mohawk haircuts. Police say according to the group's creed, if a member disrespected women, they were not allowed to wear a mohawk. They believe Dahle scalped Sheila in retaliation for actions the younger girl had made that Dahle perceived as offensive to their gender.
In court Wednesday, Dahle acknowledged she scalped the girl, but said she only meant to trim her mohawk.
"The things that you said happened, but it was not intentional," Dahle told Sticklen, according to the Idaho Statesman newspaper.
Dahle's attorney, Kathy Edwards, said the woman planned to shave the girl's mohawk but forgot to bring a razor with her to the hot springs and used a knife instead. She added that Dahle has a history of mental illness and was not taking her prescribed medications at the time of the scalping.
"(Dahle) understands that she bears responsibility," Edwards said. "She wants to acknowledge what she did ... and spare the victim from going through a trial."
Neither Sheila nor her mother attended Wednesday's hearing. The girl spent two weeks in the hospital while doctors used skin from her thigh to cover the six-inch-by-eight-inch circular patch of missing skin on her crown.
After the attack, Dahle allegedly drove the blood-covered victim to a Boise hospital and left her, then disappeared for several days before turning herself in.
The 16-year-old girl who was with Dahle and Sheila at the hot springs has not been charged in the case because investigators said she was a cooperative witness and they determined Dahle was solely responsible for the attack.
"Scalp" this woman's nether region with duct tape.....
They're "punkers", but absolutely NOT lesbians!/sarcasm off She'll get 5 yrs. probation, if that.....
Sure. I've lost count of the number of times I've intended to trim somebody's mohawk and ended up scalping them. Could happen to anybody.
Oh......my......gosh...... This story makes me sick. She had to be screaming her head off....(strike that expression) Prison. Long term.
A 6 inch by 8 inch patch of scalp??? How big was this girl's melon???? Was there anything left?
That is horrible. She should spend the rest of her life in the pen.
""(Dahle) understands that she bears responsibility," Edwards said. "She wants to acknowledge what she did ... and spare the victim from going through a trial."
I thought that was a misprint. A person actually understanding that he/she bears responsibility???
IIRC, when these was originally reported, the scalper and scalpee were past/potential lovers involved in some kind of triangle. That aspect of the story seems to have been dropped.
This wretched dog is an utter hypocrite. This wicked animal's lawyer says "(the souless animal) understands that she bears responsibility. She wants to acknowledge what she did ... and spare the victim from going through a trial." Then the animal itself speaks saying "The things that you said happened, but it was not intentional," So it's my fault but it's not my fault. If I were the judge I'd simply ask the animal "Was it intentional?" With each denial I'd add a year to her sentence, until she accepted the responsibility of her crime.
Typical liberal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.