Lake Worth, FL – A Lake Worth, Florida woman has been arrested following allegations she cut out her mother’s eyes during a brutal assault that happened Thursday, July 4 around 7:30 pm.

Thirty-four-year-old Ferna Quesner has been charged with attempted murder after Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched – responding to at least two calls – to an apartment on Gulfstream Road on Independence Day.

There, Florida authorities found Ferna’s 59-year-old mother, Blonia Quesner, with a broken nose, two broken arms, suffering head trauma, and, upon further investigation, realized her eyes had been cut out from their sockets.

Officers stated Blonia was on the ground atop a broken lamp stand and in critical condition when they entered the residence. She was unconscious and bleeding profusely from her injuries. Ferna stood next to her, her t-shirt covered in blood.

Statements made by Ferna during the encounter revealed she did not want to go to prison. Additionally, Ferna pointed down at her mother and incoherently rambled about “trying to kill the cat and she [Blonia] is the cat,” according to the Palm Beach Post.

One of the two 911 callers, a neighbor, 28-year-old Josue Leyva, described being outside of the Quesner’s apartment when he heard screaming. Another caller, an unnamed 14-year-old who lives nearby, claimed she saw Ferna dragging Blonia back into the apartment by her hair after the older woman struggled and attempted to get away, reports the Huffington Post.

Initially, Ferna was charged with aggravated battery. But given the worsening state of her mother’s condition – with bleeding in the brain – the charges have been amended to attempted first-degree murder.

It has not been determined whether or not Ferna has undergone any type of psychiatric evaluation for diminished capacity or mental illness.

Investigators found both of the victims’ eyes on the kitchen floor beside a knife and a large pool of blood during a warrant-executed search of the home. They also came upon a bloody 10-pound circular weight.

Authorities believe Ferna attacked and brutally beat her elder – motive unclear – and cut out her mother’s eyes using the kitchen knife. It was likely the woman was excessively battered first with the blunt instrument before the knife was used to core out her eyes.

[Image via Shutterstock]