A woman has pleaded guilty to scalping a teenage girl who had a mohawk hairstyle and blamed the attack on mental illness and her drug addiction.
Marianne Dahle (26) entered the plea to the aggravated battery charge as her trial was to begin on Wednesday. She faces up to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Dahle tied up the 15-year-old girl January 18 and used a 10cm knife to cut away the entire crown and back portion of her scalp. Both Dahle and the victim were part of a clique of young female ”punkers” who wore mohawks, investigators said.
Dahle scalped the youngster in retaliation for actions she perceived as offensive.
Dahle’s attorney, Kathy Edwards, said the woman planned to shave the girl’s mohawk but forgot to bring a razor and used the knife instead. She said Dahle has a history of mental illness and was not taking her prescribed medications at the time.
In court, Dahle acknowledged she scalped the girl, but said she only meant to trim her mohawk.
The victim did not attended the hearing. The girl spent two weeks in the hospital while doctors used skin from her thigh to cover the patch of missing skin.
After the attack, Dahle allegedly drove the victim to a hospital and left her; she surrendered several days later. – Sapa-AP