HARTFORD —Police are seeking a woman who allegedly gouged another woman’s left eye out of its socket during an altercation near town hall.
Megan Naylor, 36, is wanted on two felony charges: maiming and aggravated assault for an incident that occurred Aug. 10 in White River Junction, court records indicate.
Around 10 p.m., Hartford Police responded to a report of a physical altercation that resulted in an eye injury in the area of 171 Bridge Street in Hartford, where Town Hall is located. Police made initial contact with Naylor by the bridge, body camera footage indicates.
Upon arrival, Officer Bryce Moody made contact with a 45-year-old woman whose eye was visibly hanging out of the socket by her cheek and bleeding, according to an affidavit written by Moody.
At the scene, the alleged victim accused Naylor of poking her eye out.
Providing more detail, the woman told Moody that the two were arguing over a phone, which caused Naylor to pull her hair, punch her in the face and yank a gold chain necklace off her neck, according to the affidavit. Then, Naylor allegedly stuck her finger into the woman’s eye socket and bent it behind the eyeball to intentionally remove it.
“She could feel Naylor’s finger behind her eyeball,” the affidavit stated.
The woman told police she was experiencing the highest level of pain, a 10 on a 1-10 scale. Hartford EMS transported the woman to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. At the time of her initial exam on the evening of Aug. 10, she was unable to open her left eye on her own, Moody reported, and the possibility of permanent damage was unclear.
An eye popping fully out of its socket, medically known as Traumatic Globe Luxation, “is a rare occasion but it carries a risk of threat to permanent vision loss,” as per the National Institutes of Health.
While Moody accompanied the victim at the hospital, across state lines, Lebanon Police made contact with Naylor walking on Main Street. She claimed a male had hit her and was showing “signs of mental health issues” during the conversation, the affidavit stated.
Hartford Police then responded and interviewed Naylor on the street, Lebanon Police Chief Phillip Roberts confirmed Wednesday. They advised her that an arrest warrant would be issued in Vermont.
“Lebanon Police did not have the authority to arrest Naylor at that time,” Roberts said, adding that an appropriate warrant to do so was not in effect for the alleged offense.
As a result, Hartford Police requested an extraditable warrant, considering Naylor was known to travel outside of Vermont. Her last known address, employment, and family relationships are unknown, but court records list her as a “transient” White River Junction resident.
The Windsor County State’s Attorney’s Office filed an emergency application for an arrest warrant for Naylor, requesting that she be held without bail.
Naylor’s charge of maiming, which cites malicious intent to maim or disfigure the victim by pulling out or destroying her eye, comes with a possible life sentence or a minimum of seven years in prison. Her second felony charge of aggravated assault, purposefully causing serious bodily injury, could mean up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
JD Hawks, a Hartford Police Department spokesman, declined to provide details about Naylor’s current status or location, as it is an active investigation, though he did confirm that she is not currently in police custody as of Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
