Lawyer Accused Of Running Her Car Into Pedestrians Suspended From Practice Of Law
She claims the voices in her head told her to kill people.
Beatrice Bijoux (Image via bijouxinjurylaw.com)
Beatrice Bijoux, a personal injury attorney from Florida, has been suspended from the practice of law following an emergency suspension by the Florida Supreme Court. The action came following Bijoux’s arrest for driving her car into pedestrians.
Bijoux allegedly drove her Kia into four people on the sidewalk outside of a Fresh Market. She then reversed her car and another pedestrian was able to get out of the way before they were hit. One of the victims was taken to a hospital following the incident.
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According to reports, after running her car into the pedestrians, Bijoux drove to the Stuart, FL, police station:
“When Bijoux exited the vehicle, she immediately told Sgt. Reddick that the voices in her head had told her to kill the people,” the report said.
After her arrest, the report says Bijoux said she wanted to kill other people, wanted to kill the people she hit, wanted to kill herself and even the 4-year-old niece who lives with her part time. She claimed she was under a doctor’s care, but hadn’t spoken to her doctor since December. She’d never wanted to hurt other people before, but “could not explain why today was different.” She asked a police lieutenant what the charges were.
When told aggravated battery, the report said, “she immediately said that she cannot believe that she is only being charged with that due to the fact that she wanted to kill those people.”
She has since been charged with four counts of attempted murder.
Bijoux reportedly has a history of mental illness, and family members point to that:
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“She’s sick, she’s sick. She thinks somebody’s following her,” said Marie Espady, Bijoux’s mother. “She doesn’t know what she’s doing. She got up and she didn’t take her medication this morning.”
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
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