Florida woman breaks into ex-husband's home to stab him in his sleep, deputies say
BUNNELL, Fla. - A Florida woman was taken to jail after she broke into her ex-husband's home and tried to stab him in his sleep, authorities said.
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office arrested Melinda Gould, 40, of Ormond Beach, on charges of aggravated assault, armed burglary of dwelling/structure, and two counts of child abuse mental injury.
During the early morning hours of April 26, a deputy responded to a home in Bunnell after a woman called 911 saying her boyfriend's ex-wife had broken into their home and was standing over their bed while they were sleeping and attempted to stab him.
When he arrived, he found Gould's van in the driveway and inside the home, he found a man holding her to the floor. A filet knife was found nearby.
Photo of knife via Flagler County Sheriff's Office
Gould and her ex-husband's three children were also inside the home. Deputies said they were not hurt but were traumatized by the incident.
"I just had to scare him," Gould could be heard telling a deputy on body camera video.
Booking photo of Melinda Gould via Flagler County Sheriff's Office
She went on to say that she tried to buy a gun from a man across the street to kill her ex-husband, but the man did not have one. Deputies said she settled for grabbing a knife from the couple's kitchen.
"What would you have done if you got the gun," the deputy asked Gould. I would have blew his brains out," she responded. "And not thought twice about it."
About an hour before the incident, Gould reportedly called 911 for a wellness check at her ex-husband's home because "she had just woken up from a nightmare in which she heard gunshots at his residence where her children were staying," the sheriff's office said in a news release.
A deputy arrived and later informed her that there was no criminal activity or suspicious behavior at the home, to which she replied "go f**k yourself," officials said.
Investigators said Gould had been trespassed from the home in Oct. 2022, so she also faces a charge of trespass after warning. She was booked into the Flagler County jail.
Two days later, deputies said she got into a fight with another inmate and was arrested for battery.
She is being held without bond.