A Madison woman is facing attempted first-degree intentional homicide charges after allegedly trying to kill her father while hallucinating that he was the devil. Jamie Anderson, 34, was charged after a violent incident at her father’s Stoughton home on July 1, according to a criminal complaint.
The complaint alleges that Anderson, who had walked 16 miles from her Madison apartment, rang her father’s doorbell early that morning. When he answered, she reportedly said she wanted to stop seeing hallucinations and initially asked for a hug. However, when her father asked if she was on drugs, Anderson allegedly attempted to stab him in the head.
She tried multiple times to stab him before her father was able to push her over a coffee table to escape. Responding officers arrived at the scene to find Anderson’s father on the front stoop of the house, bleeding from his left arm. He informed police that Anderson was still inside the home, according to the ABC affiliate WKOW.
An officer found Anderson walking down the stairs from an alley behind the house, holding a bright orange knife. She dropped the weapon when ordered to and was arrested without further incident. Anderson allegedly confessed to officers that she had been hallucinating and believed her father was the devil. The complaint also states that she admitted to slashing or cutting him about four times during the attack.
As a result of the assault, Anderson’s father required staples in his head and surgery on his arm. He told police that the attack was not characteristic of his daughter and that her actions were the result of drugs, explaining that Anderson’s “mind is cooked.”
During her initial appearance last week, Anderson’s cash bond was set at $500,000. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for next Tuesday.