Seattle homeless woman arrested for biting chunk from stranger’s face while yelling racial slurs in random attack

King County prosecutors charged Kamilia Chadli, 36, with second-degree assault stemming from the Sept. 18 attack on Diana Jasmine Gonzalez on Third Avenue in downtown Seattle. The charging document alleges Chadli intentionally assaulted Gonzalez and “recklessly inflict[ed] substantial bodily harm,” according to court documents obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI.

At the time of the alleged attack, Chadli told police she was staying at the Downtown Emergency Service Center’s (DESC) STAR Center at 619 Third Avenue, a homeless shelter, directly across the street from the Arctic Club Hotel where the confrontation occurred.

Seattle police referred the case for both second-degree assault and a hate crime offense. Investigators found probable cause to believe Chadli committed both crimes.

According to court documents, Gonzalez was walking to a 7-Eleven when she passed Chadli sitting on the steps outside the Arctic Club Hotel. The two women were strangers. Police allege that, without warning or provocation, Chadli threw a food wrapper at Gonzalez. When Gonzalez asked what her problem was, Chadli allegedly began yelling, “You’re the inferior race” and “Mongoloid!” Gonzalez also told police Chadli called her an “Incel f*ggot” and repeatedly told her, “You’re inferior!”

Police said Chadli then spit on Gonzalez before the confrontation became physical. Gonzalez told investigators Chadli grabbed her and pulled her down before biting her forehead.

Williams Argenal, an employee at the Arctic Club Hotel, witnessed the fight and intervened. According to police, when Gonzalez stood up, she was “gushing blood” and appeared to be in shock. After seeing her injuries, Argenal allegedly told Chadli, “But did you have to rip her face off? She’s half your size!”

The bite allegedly tore a circular piece of skin approximately one inch in diameter from Gonzalez’s forehead. Prosecutors said Chadli spat the piece of flesh into a storm drain. Gonzalez required surgery for a skin graft to close the wound.

Photographs included in the court filing show Gonzalez with a large open wound above her right eye and blood covering much of her face. Police also photographed blood on the sidewalk and what investigators described as the apparent piece of Gonzalez’s flesh inside a grate.

Investigators wrote that Gonzalez “will forever bear a scar on her face from the attack.”

Gonzalez identified Chadli through the courthouse doors, telling police, “That’s her, 100%.” Chadli was arrested for investigation of a hate crime and transported to the King County Jail.

In their probable cause certification, Seattle police concluded that Chadli “targeted a stranger in an unprovoked attack based on her race and assaulted her, resulting in significant bodily injury.” Police determined there was probable cause for both a hate crime offense and second-degree assault.

Despite that determination, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI that prosecutors charged Chadli only with second-degree assault because that is the crime they currently believe they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. “While the case was referred for a possible hate crime charge, based on the currently available evidence, prosecutors determined Assault in the Second Degree is the crime that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Prosecutors added that a hate crime charge could still be added later if evidence emerges that meets the burden required under Washington law.

Under Washington’s hate crime statute, prosecutors must prove that a defendant maliciously and intentionally committed an enumerated act, including assault, “in whole or in part” because of the defendant’s perception of the victim’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or certain disabilities. A hate crime is a Class C felony, while second-degree assault is a Class B felony.

The prosecutor’s office also noted that a hate crime is a separate criminal charge rather than a sentencing enhancement that automatically adds prison time to another conviction. Prosecutors said that if both offenses were proven in this case, the sentences would run concurrently.

Prosecutors requested $150,000 bail, arguing that Chadli posed a risk of committing another violent offense if released. “The defendant bit the victim causing a horrifying injury,” prosecutors wrote. They described the alleged attack as “extremely violent” and said it would likely have “permanent ramifications” for Gonzalez. The court granted the $150,000 bail request, and Chadli remains in the King County Jail.

Court documents state that Chadli has no known criminal convictions, though police said she was arrested for fourth-degree assault in 2023 in a case later declined by the Seattle City Attorney’s Office. Police also documented what they described as a “lengthy history” of previous interactions with SPD.

Chadli is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 am Sept. 28 in King County Superior Court.

DESC facilities are known in Seattle for violent incidents and heavy emergency-service use. In 2023, a resident of DESC’s Interbay Place was arrested after allegedly barricading two social-service workers inside an office and threatening them with sexual violence. DESC facilities accounted for a majority of the top 20 destinations for Seattle Fire Department and medic responses in 2022, including the top three locations.