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Julie Mitchell drops out of Tequesta Village Council race after stabbing leads to arrest

Former candidate withdraws from municipal election
Julie Mitchell faces four counts of aggravated battery and two counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer with violence following a stabbing at her Tequesta home on Jan. 18, 2024.
Posted at 5:35 PM, Jan 26, 2024
and last updated 2024-01-26 21:45:57-05

TEQUESTA, Fla. — A Tequesta political candidate has withdrawn from the race after she stabbed two relatives, believing that they were "the devil," police said.

Julie Mitchell was a candidate for Village Council at the time of last week's stabbing, but a message on Tequesta's elections website Friday stated that Mitchell, 54, "has officially withdrawn from the election" and won't appear on the March ballot.

The stabbing occurred Jan. 18 at Mitchell's home on Golfview Drive.

Tequesta police said officers arrived at the home and found one of the victims outside with a "laceration to her head." According to the arrest report, Mitchell was inside holding a "large kitchen knife" and "covered in blood."

Police said Mitchell then attacked the two officers while holding the knife before they were able to subdue her and take her into custody.

Julie Mitchell appears in Palm Beach County courtroom on Jan. 19, 2024.
Julie Mitchell appears in Palm Beach County courtroom on Jan. 19, 2024.

A second relative was found inside the home with a "laceration to his upper left arm."

Both victims were taken to Jupiter Medical Center to be treated, while Mitchell was taken to another hospital for evaluation and then booked into jail.

When questioned at the hospital, Mitchell told a detective that "Satan lived in her home." She went on to say that "her [relatives] and their dog are the devil."

Mitchell was arrested on four counts of aggravated battery and two counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer with violence.

Her former opponent, Jayson French, will now be elected unopposed.