BANGOR, Maine — A judge on Friday set $35,000 cash bail for a woman accused of stabbing two strangers at random in the Bangor Mall on Tuesday, with conditions that she avoid the victims and the mall if she does post bail.
Prosecutors asked for $50,000 cash bail.
Elizabeth Ellis, 34, described in court documents as a transient from Virginia, appeared in a Penobscot Judicial Center courtroom Friday afternoon via video conference from Penobscot County Jail.
Ellis remained quiet throughout her appearance, but answered questions through her lawyer for the day, Jeremiah Haley, while the microphone was muted. She told Haley that she has $60,000 available in an out-of-state bank account, but wouldn’t be able to access it from jail.
Judge Kevin Stitham, who normally sits in Dover-Foxcroft and Lincoln, appointed defense attorney Aaron Frey to represent Ellis in the future. A court financial screen found Ellis to be indigent, meaning she qualified for court-appointed representation. The judge ordered her to reimburse the state for the cost of the attorney with money from her bank account.
He also questioned where Ellis would stay if she posted bond. She had been living in a rental cabin in the Sugarloaf area but would not be able to return, according to Haley. She likely would have to stay at a homeless shelter in the Bangor area, Haley told the judge.
“She denies the allegations at this point,” Haley told the judge.
Michael Roberts, deputy district attorney for Penobscot County, said Ellis has no criminal history in Maine and no apparent criminal history in Virginia.
Ellis faces two counts of aggravated assault. Prosecutors say she approached two women from behind, neither of whom she knew, and stabbed them.
One victim, who was stabbed about 11:35 a.m. in the American Eagle store near the entrance, described her attacker as “female with dark clothing and medium length brown hair staring at her holding a knife.”
“She told us that [the attacker’s] eyes were ‘bugging’ out of her head and she was not acting right,” the affidavit, written by Bangor police Detective Tim Shaw, said.
The other victim, stabbed from behind about 11:58 a.m. while in the restroom at J.C. Penney, told police that her alleged assailant stared at her “with her eyes wide” before leaving the bathroom. Neither victim reported that Ellis spoke to them.
Each victim suffered a single stab wound to her shoulder. Both were taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center, where they were treated and then released, according to a previously published report.
After the alleged assaults, Ellis drove to Farmington, where she later turned herself in to police.
A dispositional conference was scheduled for Aug. 5 in court.
If convicted, Ellis faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000 on each count.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.
BDN writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.