STUART, Fla. – A personal injury attorney in Florida has been charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and disbarred after she was accused of mowing down four people in a parking lot because of “voices” in her head, police said.
Beatrice Bijoux, 31, of Fort Lauderdale, was charged after she intended to drive on the sidewalk outside The Fresh Market grocery store and strike pedestrians in February, according to an arrest report obtained by the Miami Herald.
She is being held without bond after pleading not guilty to one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of high speed or wanton fleeing and four counts of attempted murder.
Bijoux was driving her Kia about 35 mph and made no effort to brake or slow down during the vehicular assault, Stuart police said.
Moreover, surveillance video showed her “reversing at a high rate of speed” as she reportedly tried to strike another pedestrian, according to law enforcement authorities.
During the investigation, Bijoux told police she intended to hit the victims and that “voices in her head had told her to kill the people.”
Beatrice Bijoux (Florida Bar)
It was unclear what kind of injuries were sustained by the victims.
Subsequent to her arrest, the lawyer was disbarred after the state Supreme Court granted the Florida Bar’s emergency request to suspend her, the New York Post reported.
Bijoux was admitted to the state’s bar association in 2016.
