A 21-year-old Gassville woman charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a close family friend has been found mentally unfit to proceed.
The case against Amber Lea Runau will be suspended, and she will be committed to the custody of the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) “for detention, care and treatment until restoration of her fitness to proceed” is attained, or it is determined it cannot be restored.
The director of DHS is ordered to report back to the court within 10 months as to Runau’s condition and prognosis.
Runau called 911 on Aug. 17 last year to report she had stabbed then 72-year-old Sharon Gayle Adler in the chest with a large kitchen knife.
Adler was reported to have not only been a family friend, but also to have been a babysitter for Runau and her older sister, Anna.
Anna Runau is currently an inmate in the McPherson Unit of the state prison system in Newport. She is serving a 20-year sentence for attempted murder.
In May 2016, Anna Runau pled no contest to charges she lured a Salem man to Lake Norfork where she is reported to have stabbed him seven times. Authorities said Runau and a juvenile accomplice planned to steal the man’s truck and drive to Indiana.
Amber Runau has entered a not guilty plea to the charges against her stemming from the stabbing. She has been an inmate in the Baxter County jail since the incident with bond set at one million dollars.
When she called authorities, Amber Runau was reported to have said she became upset when she could not “fix” a picture frame and took her anger out on the victim.
Runau remained on the phone with 911 and was told to leave the house that was located along Elm Street in Gassville, and go out on the driveway to meet officers, which she did.
According to the probable cause affidavit, officers reported she told them her story in a matter-of-fact tone. She was said to have described the events leading up to the stabbing and the stabbing itself.
She added one macabre detail, saying she had watched the victim’s eyes as she died.
When officers went into the home, they found the victim sitting in her recliner with the kitchen knife protruding from her upper left chest area.
Deputy Public Defender Sam Pasthing is currently representing Amber Runau.
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