A woman in custody tried to stab herself with a pen while in district court, according to the Delaware County Times.
It happened on Wednesday during a preliminary hearing in Upper Darby.
The Times reports Irene MacDonald, 24, of Drexel Hill, was taken from the county prison for a hearing before Magisterial District Judge Ann Berardocco.
MacDonald was arrested back on December 8 for allegedly arranging to buy drugs while walking her 18-month-old baby in a stroller. An undercover officer overheard MacDonald having a conversation about the alleged drug buy on her cell phone, according to the Times. Shaun Hughes, 26, of Drexel Hill, was also arrested.
The Times reports that during Wednesday’s hearing, MacDonald was given a ballpoint pen to sign court paperwork. Ashley Lang, the judge’s clerk, told the Times that MacDonald’s brother stated to the judge that she wouldn’t be able to come home until she was clean. It was then that Lang claims MacDonald snapped, jabbing her stomach with the pen a few times while saying “I just want to die.”
Lang says that a constable grabbed the pen from MacDonald and took her near the holding cells in the Upper Darby police station. MacDonald then began to bang her head against the wall, according to Lang. Paramedics soon arrived and took MacDonald to Delaware County Memorial Hospital for treatment and a psychological evaluation.
“Obviously she has a drug problem and a significant mental health issue,” said Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood to the Delco Times. “She needs help and she was trying to hurt herself. I was told she punctured her skin and was treated and released and returned to the prison.”
