Mom of woman who gouged eyes out tells ‘People’ she was going to have her committed

The mother of the South Carolina woman who gouged out her eyes outside of an Upstate church described to People magazine the ordeal she has been through since her 20-year-old was discovered outside of a church holding an eyeball in her hand.

Katy Tompkins spoke with People for a human interest story after her daughter, Kaylee Muthart, suffered self-inflicted injuries that occurred under the influence of drugs.

Tompkins provided updates on Muthart’s condition and recovery, something that is going to take a long time. “Each day at a time, she just gets a little better and better.”

She also expressed her feelings and struggles as she tries to cope with this difficult situation. “That was a struggle … it was horrifying. Complete terror.”

Tompkins also revealed that she was so worried about Muthart’s downward spiral into drug addiction before the incident, that she was planning to have her daughter committed.

But Muthart told her mother she would enter rehab the following week, according to Tompkins.

“The day before it happened, which was my birthday, I was getting ready to have her committed, just to get her off the streets and away from it,” Tompkins told People. “But I was too late.”

Muthart gouged out her eyes as she fought off good Samaritans and first responders next to the South Main Chapel in Anderson on Feb. 6. The incident has left her permanently blind.

She was under the influence of drugs when she intentionally blinded herself, reportedly using marijuana and methamphetamine.

Tompkins has said that Muthart started using meth about six months before the incident. She has also stated that doctors believe on the day of the incident that Muthart’s meth was likely laced with another chemical.

Tompkins told People this caused her daughter to have hallucinations that the world was “upside down” and hear voices that told her to “sacrifice her eyes” in order to make it to heaven.

In the interview with People, Tompkins also shed some light on Muthart’s recovery. She said doctors have recommended that Muthart get prosthetic eyes to preserve her facial structure and keep bacteria out of the cavities. Tompkins said her daughter wants prosthetics that match the aqua green eyes she was born with.

Tompkins told People she doesn’t know when her daughter will be released from the hospital, but when she does go home that both want to help others struggling. Tompkins said Muthart’s story can serve as a cautionary tale, and if they can help “just one person,” something good can come of such a terrible incident.

“I’m thankful,” Tompkins told People. “It’s a horrible thing, but I’m still thankful because God spared her life.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2018 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Mom of woman who gouged eyes out tells ‘People’ she was going to have her committed."