Fla. woman sentenced for killing her mom, gouging her eyes out, and placing them on cardboard box
11/30/2023 11:52 am PST
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (TCD) -- A judge sentenced a woman to 15 years in prison for violently killing her mother five years ago and cutting her eyes out.
WPTV-TV reports Camille Balla pleaded guilty Monday, Nov. 27, to manslaughter with a weapon. She already has over 2,000 days of time served because she has been in custody since her arrest in 2018, so she will serve less than 10 years in state prison. Jail records show Balla was originally charged with first-degree premeditated murder.
Balla was scheduled to stand trial Friday, Dec. 1.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on March 16, 2018, at 1:40 a.m., the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office received a call from someone who said his co-worker, Balla, needed them to come over because Balla "believed she may have murdered her mother." The co-worker went to Balla’s residence on Country Club Way in Royal Palm Beach and found her covered in blood, so they called 911.
Deputies arrived and said Balla "appeared frantic." She reportedly told one of the responding deputies, "I killed my mother and I need help." She said her mother was in the garage, so the deputy went inside and found "a significant amount of blood spatter throughout the residence."
The deputy made his way into the garage and discovered Francisca Monteiro-Balla deceased. She was partially clothed with "multiple large lacerations on her body."
The affidavit says Monteiro-Balla’s eyes had been "removed from her head and placed on a nearby cardboard box."
The fire department arrived at the scene to aid Balla, who also had lacerations on her body. She reportedly told officials she smoked marijuana but believed it was laced with Flakka, a drug similar to bath salts, or PCP. According to the affidavit, Balla "continuously mumbled, screamed, ran around, and eventually fell to the ground. While on the ground, Balla began to spontaneously scream, 'I’m a murderer, I’m a murderer!'"
She had cuts on her hands, knees, and fingers, so a deputy transported her to a nearby hospital.
Investigators obtained a warrant to search Balla’s home several hours later. A trail of blood reportedly led from the living room through the kitchen, where the "amount of blood in the trail grew heavier," and into the garage. Investigators found Monteiro-Balla with "several large, deep lacerations, and traumatic injuries throughout her body including her head, arms, chest, stomach, and groin."
The affidavit describes, "Both of her eyes had been removed from their sockets. Several feet away from the victim was a cardboard box which had the victim’s eyes on top."
Detectives noticed broken glass that they believe caused the cuts on Balla’s hands and knee caps. They also found notes with religious messages on them "related to clearing of the soul" as well as paper with marijuana on it.
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