A Ferndale woman who will admit trying to murder her 11-year-old daughter will have a court trial next week to determine whether she was insane at the time of the attack.

This morning Kimberly Ann Felder entered pleas of not guilty to attempted second-degree murder with the special allegation of personally inflicting great bodily injury. But Felder’s attorney, Public Defender Marek Reavis, told Judge Christopher Wilson she will plead no contest to the charges on Wednesday. Then Wilson, most likely after hearing testimony from doctors who evaluated Felder,  will rule on whether she was legally insane when she attacked the girl on Centerville Beach.

Felder.

Outside of court, Reavis said both doctors who examined Felder determined she was insane. Provided Wilson agrees and makes that ruling, Felder will be sent to Napa State Hospital for a minimum of six months.

When doctors at Napa determine Felder’s sanity has been fully restored, Reavis said, she will be returned to Humboldt County to undergo outpatient treatment for a year. During that time she will be out of custody, and provided the treatment goes well she will stay out.

Felder, 46, brutally attacked her daughter on June 16, 2017, by stripping her naked and then hitting, kicking and biting her while shoving sand in her mouth. She claimed to be casting demons out of the girl. A witness stopped the assault.

The girl suffered multiple injuries, including serious damage to her right ear.

Felder has spent the past year in Humboldt County Correctional Facility. Reavis said she has been in contact with her family and they are “very supportive.”

If the judge were to rule she was sane at the time of the attempted murder, Felder would face a maximum term of 12 years in state prison. Attempted second-degree murder carries a top term of 9 years, and inflicting great bodily injury could add three more years.

Deputy District Attorney Stacey Eads is prosecuting the case.

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