A 44-year-old Camas woman appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree assault, but a deputy prosecutor said his office will likely add an attempted murder charge to the case.
Rima L. McQuestion was arrested Wednesday morning following an alleged knife attack that left her sister hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Judge Bernard Veljacic set Rima McQuestion’s bail at $1 million. An arraignment hearing was scheduled for Feb. 26.
Deputies responded to a report of a disturbance with a weapon at about 8 a.m. Wednesday in the 27000 block of Northwest 36th Street, north of Fern Prairie, according to emergency dispatch records.
Officers en route to the scene were told that Rima McQuestion cut her sister, Tonya McQuestion, with a knife. When they arrived, officers determined that Tonya McQuestion suffered severe slashing injuries to her legs, according to the affidavit.
“The cuts were very deep extending down to nearly the femur on her upper legs,” the affidavit says.
Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes told the judge that Tonya McQuestion was also stabbed in the neck under her jawbone. Hayes said he did not have an update on the woman’s well-being. The affidavit says Tonya McQuestion would likely need surgery.
Rima McQuestion was detained at the end of the property’s driveway. She told police where the knife allegedly used in the assault was located, according to the affidavit. She refused to talk about what happened and requested a lawyer.
The defendant’s mother, Darlene McQuestion, said her daughters began fighting about car keys around 8 a.m., court records say. The argument continued into a shared bathroom, where Rima McQuestion took a 3 ½-inch folding knife, the mother said, and slashed and stabbed her sister, according to the affidavit.
Defense attorney Renee Alsept chose to address bail at a later hearing. She said she needed to gather more information from the family. Alsept said her client was acting in self-defense. She asked that the judge request jail officials to document bruises all over Rima McQuestion’s body, but Veljacic said that was beyond his authority.
