Woman who stabbed child sent to hospital

PORTLAND – A woman who said she stabbed her 11-year-old daughter to protect her from an evil curse has been sent to a state hospital just one month after a judge determined her competent to stand trial.

Superior Court Justice Carl Bradford on Tuesday found Paula Tarbox not criminally responsible for stabbing her 11-year-old daughter, Carly, on July 5 because, he said, the woman had a mental disease. Bradford ordered Tarbox committed indefinitely to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The ruling ended the criminal case against Tarbox, who was charged with attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault. If she had been convicted, she could have been sentenced to as much as 40 years in prison.

Tarbox will stay in the Riverview Psychiatric Center at the former Augusta Mental Health Institute until she can demonstrate that she poses no threat to herself or others. The case’s prosecutor agreed with the ruling and said Tarbox was going to the right place.

“I don’t know if you can say there is a good resolution to a case like this, but this is the best resolution,” said Cumberland County Assistant District Attorney Deb Chmielewski.