Woman accused of biting chunk from stranger’s forehead in downtown Seattle appears in court

A 36-year-old woman accused of biting a piece of flesh from another woman’s forehead during an attack in downtown Seattle made a brief court appearance Monday morning.

Kamilia Chadli is charged with second-degree assault in the Sept. 18 attack on 36-year-old Diana Gonzalez near 3rd Avenue and Marion Street.

Police said Chadli pulled Gonzalez to the ground and bit a roughly 1-inch piece of flesh from her forehead. Gonzalez was taken to Harborview Medical Center and later underwent a skin graft.

During Monday’s hearing, Chadli’s attorney, Katie Melnick, requested a competency evaluation. Melnick told the court her request was based on information in the case and three conversations with her client.

King County Superior Court Judge Nelson Lee granted the request, saying there was reason for concern regarding Chadli’s competency. The case is scheduled to return to court Oct. 13.

Lee also denied Melnick’s request to prevent news cameras from showing Chadli’s face, citing the presumption of open access to court proceedings.

Melnick declined to comment as she left the courtroom.

Chadli remains jailed on $150,000 bail. The judge did not revisit her release conditions Monday morning.

No mention was made during the hearing of a possible hate-crime charge.

Police say attacker yelled slurs before biting victim’s face

On Sept. 18 around 3:45 p.m., police were called to the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Marion Street, near the 7-Eleven on the corner, for reports of a woman who had been violently attacked.

Officers arrived and found her with a large, bloody wound and a “chunk of flesh” missing from her face, police wrote.

The victim told police she was attacked by a stranger.

She told police that a random woman threw a food wrapper at her as she walked past. When the victim asked why the woman threw the wrapper, the woman yelled at her that “you’re the inferior race” and started calling her a homophobic slur, police said.

Chadli then stood up and spit on the victim before grabbing her and pulling her to the ground. While the two women were on the ground, Chadli sank her teeth into the victim’s forehead, causing a 1-inch diameter gash, police said.

A witness saw the attack and tried to pull Chadli off the victim. The witness also chased after Chadli and was able to wave down a King County Marshall at the courthouse.

Chadli was ultimately arrested and booked for hate crime offense and felony assault charges.

Seattle police said the victim was taken to a hospital for treatment, and that she was left with “permanent injuries [that] require surgery.”

Learn more about reporting hate crimes and the SPD Safe Place Program here.