Putnam woman accused of cutting victim over scratched windshield

An argument over a scratched windshield ends with one woman injured and another in jail.

St. Johns County deputies responded to a gas station on E Church St in Hastings Thursday night in reference to a stabbing. The arrest report says 55-year-old Karen McLaughlin, a 29-year-old woman who lives with her, and McLaughlin’s 16-year-old grandchild had gone to get gas. The 29-year-old pumped the gas and then went to clean the windshield, accidentally scratching the windshield in the process.

Surveillance video from the gas station shows McLaughlin immediately getting upset. The victim told investigators they then got in to a verbal argument, and when they were in the car, McLaughlin got out a pocket knife and started “violently swinging” it.

The victim suffered two deep cuts to her hand while trying to grab McLaughlin’s hand with the knife. She suffered a bite on her shoulder as well, and while the victim says she doesn’t remember how that happened, the arrest report says McLaughlin admitted to biting her. McLaughlin reportedly admits to the dispute, but says she was not armed with a knife. The teen told investigators he witnessed McLaughlin cut the victim.

The arrest report says the victim was able to get out of the car, and McLaughlin drove off. She was found at her home in Putnam County, and returned to St. Johns to cooperate with the investigation.

While it’s unclear from the report how exactly McLaughlin and the victim came to know each other, the arrest report says the victim told investigators that McLaughlin had previously threatened to kill her and threatened her with a weapon.

McLaughlin has now been arrested for aggravated battery.