“She Played Dead”: How a 12-Year-Old Outsmarted Her Attacker | Gwendolyn Girard

On May 26, 2025, a 911 call out of Punta Gorda, Florida, sent deputies racing to the Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area. In the woods, they found a 12-year-old girl bleeding from multiple stab wounds, barely alive.

What happened next left even veteran investigators speechless. The girl survived long enough to whisper who had attacked her—and the name she gave stunned everyone.

Her account of how she escaped is as shocking as it is heartbreaking. And the suspect’s arrest, just hours later, only raised more questions about motive, mental health, and how far a case like this will go in court.

This is the story of a child who fought to survive, and a mother, Gwendolyn Girard, accused of doing the unthinkable.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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