Seattle Woman Has Chunk Of Forehead Bitten Off In Broad-Daylight ‘Zombie’ Attack

A downtown Seattle walk to the 7-Eleven turned into a horror-movie scene when a homeless woman allegedly sank her teeth into a stranger’s forehead, tore out a one-inch circle of flesh, and spat it into a storm grate.

Diana Gonzalez, 36, says she had never seen Kamilia Chadli before Sept. 18. Chadli, also 36, was sitting on the steps of the Arctic Club Hotel eating a hamburger when she threw a food wrapper at Gonzalez, according to charging papers and Gonzalez’s interview with KOMO.

When Gonzalez asked why, prosecutors say Chadli yelled that she was “the inferior race,” hurled a homophobic slur, spat on her, dragged her to the sidewalk and bit down. Officers later found the missing piece of skin in a grate. Gonzalez couldn’t even call 911, there was too much blood on her phone screen.

“It looks like a zombie bite, like in a movie,” Gonzalez said. “This is my face. I’m going to have a scar permanently.”Hotel valet Chris Holt said he watched the fight explode in front of him near Third Avenue and Cherry Street. He and another valet pulled the women apart — but not before Chadli leaned in and took the bite.“The words can’t even describe the situation,” Holt told KOMO. “It was something I’ve never seen, and her face just turned completely to blood.”

Then came the part that stunned witnesses: Chadli allegedly walked away like nothing happened and headed for a bus stop by the King County Courthouse. A coworker chased her; a court marshal grabbed her until Seattle police arrived.

Chadli was living in a shelter across the street, court papers say. Police contacts describe a history of mental-health and substance issues, including a prior emergency detention for involuntary evaluation. Prosecutors noted she has no King County criminal record but still asked for $150,000 bail, citing the violence and risk she could do it again.

Police initially booked her on suspicion of a hate crime. King County prosecutors charged second-degree assault instead, saying that’s the count they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt while they continue to review bias allegations. Arraignment is Monday.

Gonzalez needed treatment at Harborview and is scheduled for a skin-flap procedure in early October. She wants the charge to stick and for Chadli to serve real time, plus treatment, so this doesn’t happen to someone else.“I can’t believe she bit a piece of my face off,” Gonzalez said. “It didn’t make any sense.”