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Arieana Gibbs, 22, was ordered to be placed in a mental health facility for treatment. The priest, Father Matt Marino, was hospitalized for 6 days after the attack.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A judge has dismissed the case of a woman charged with attempted murder in the stabbing of a St. Augustine priest in October, a court document shows.
On Oct. 23, 2024, the St. Augustine Police Department alerted the public of heavy police presence in the downtown area while they searched for a female suspect, later identified as 22-year-old Arieana Gibbs.
Gibbs was wanted for a stabbing that police said occurred around 8 a.m. near the corner of San Marco and Rohde avenues. She was arrested on multiple charges around 10:30 a.m., a little further south in St. Johns County.
It was later revealed that Father Matt Marino of Trinity Parish Church was the victim of the stabbing. The police department said the attack appeared to be “random,” and that Gibbs and Marino did not know each other. Marino suffered life-threatening injuries in the incident and spent six days in Jacksonville’s HCA Florida Memorial Hospital with a severed pulmonary artery and a collapsed lung. The Episcopal Diocese of Florida said Marino was stabbed while having coffee.
A court order signed by Judge R. Lee Smith on Dec. 19 says Gibbs has a mental illness that interferes with her ability to consult with her lawyer “with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.” It further states Gibbs has no “rational or factual understanding” of the court proceedings against her and that there is a “substantial likelihood” she would be a danger to herself or others without treatment.
A competency evaluation on Gibbs was done by Dr. Ryan Bennett, the order notes.
Because Gibbs has been ruled incompetent to proceed in the case against her, the order mentions that she will be placed, retained and treated in a mental health facility.
“No later than 60 days after the date of admission [into the mental health facility], the Department [of Children and Families], through the administrator of the facility to which the Defendant is admitted shall file a report directly to this Court, with copies to the attorneys for the State and Defense, as to the determination of whether Defendant has regained competency and the need for continued commitment,” the order states. “At any time thereafter that the administrator or designee determines that Defendant has regained competency to proceed or otherwise no longer meets the criteria for continued commitment, a report shall be filed with the Court so stating.”
Below is First Coast News’ exclusive interview with Marino talking about the stabbing.
