TEQUESTA, Fla. — A candidate for Village of Tequesta Council told police she stabbed two relatives on Thursday because they were "the devil," according to a newly released arrest report.
Julie Mitchell, 54, running for Seat 1 on the council, is facing felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting an officer with violence.
According to Mitchell's arrest report, Tequesta police officers responded to her home at on Golfview Drive just after 7:30 a.m. Thursday and found one of the victims outside with a "laceration to her head."
Inside the home, officers found Mitchell holding a "large kitchen knife" and "covered in blood," the report stated.
When police tried to get Mitchell under control, they said she was "actively resisting" them, intentionally striking two officers while holding the weapon.
Officers eventually got the knife out of Mitchell's hands and took her into custody.
The arrest report said a second relative was inside the home with a "laceration to his upper left arm."
The two victims were taken to Jupiter Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, while Mitchell was taken to HCA Florida JFK North Hospital in West Palm Beach, before eventually being booked into the Palm Beach County Jail.
According to the report, when a Tequesta police detective asked Mitchell at the hospital why she was covered in blood, "she told me that Satan lived in her home."
When asked about the stabbing, Mitchell told the detective "her [relatives] and their dog are the devil" and she "stabbed her [relative] in the heart," the report said.
"When I asked her if she thinks her [relatives] are dead or alive, she said she thinks they're both dead," the report added.
According to Mitchell's arrest report, the Florida Department of Children and Families has been notified, and there is no prior history of domestic violence in the family.
Mitchell had been running for a seat on the Tequesta Village Council. Her webpage cited public safety as a key issue.
However, Thursday afternoon, that webpage was taken down, but WPTV hasn't heard if Mitchell is abandoning her run for office. Tequesta Vice Mayor Laurie Brandon said that is not important at this time.
"It's a very sad day in Tequesta," Brandon said. "And we really hope the public really respects the privacy of the family and that they heal, and that the community heals together with them."
Mitchell's opponent for the council seat, Jayson French, echoed that sentiment in an email to WPTV, saying, "My family and I will be praying for the Mitchell family during this very difficult time. I know our special Tequesta community will come together for any support they may need."
Before Mitchell's campaign website was taken down, it said that the political candidate was married with two children and moved to Golfview Drive from Jupiter in 2021.
The website said Mitchell has been a neighborhood coordinator for the town of Jupiter for 20 years.
In court Friday, a judge denied Mitchell bond and ordered her to have no contact with the victims. Mitchell is being represented by the Palm Beach County Public Defender's Office.
