Merrill woman faces felony charges after stabbing incident; may claim self-defense

Julia L. White, 43, of Merrill, made her initial appearance in Lincoln County Circuit Court on Monday, March 30, 2026, facing felony charges in connection with a weekend stabbing. White is formally charged with First Degree Reckless Injury and Battery - Bodily Harm. If convicted of First Degree Reckless Injury, a Class D felony, White faces a fine of up to $100,000, imprisonment for up to 25 years, or both. If convicted of Battery - Bodily Harm, a Class H felony, she could face an additional fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to six years, or both.

The incident
The stabbing occurred Saturday night inside White’s home. According to the Criminal Complaint, officers from the Merrill Police Department and Lincoln County EMS were dispatched to S&S Bar at approximately 10:06 p.m. on Saturday, March 28. Responders found an unconscious male victim bleeding heavily from a stab wound located “just to the left side of the center of his chest.” According to a source, patrons at S&S Bar immediately began to render first aid and did so until the ambulance and EMS arrived. Officers followed a blood trail leading to White’s residence at 200 East Street, approximately one block away from the bar.
The victim was transported to Aspirus Merrill Hospital. Sources say he was then airlifted to a Madison hospital. During Monday’s hearing, Lincoln County District Attorney Kristopher Ellis noted the severity of the victim’s condition, saying, “They did attempt to — today — to remove it, the intubation, from him, to see if he could breathe on his own and, unfortunately, he could not.” He also noted he was told the victim has fluid in his lungs.

The victim and the defendant

Area residents have identified the victim as White’s boyfriend; this was not an incident where a stranger just walked into her home. This is corroborated by the Criminal Complaint, which notes White’s adult daughter advised police that White and the victim had been in an “on and off” relationship for a few months. The victim remains hospitalized and unable to make a statement. Authorities are not yet releasing his name.

The allegations and self-defense claim
White may make a future claim of self-defense, Ellis noted. This is supported by witness statements made by her daughter. According to the Criminal Complaint, White told police the two got into a “verbal and then physical altercation” where the victim grabbed her by the neck. White claimed she “struck him in the face,” and when an officer asked if she believed her actions injured the victim, “she made a comment along the line of, I hope so, I wanted it to.” She told police she “poked Victim in his chest with two of her fingers,” but she “never mentioned a knife being involved in the incident.”
White’s daughter, however, told police she saw the victim “choking” White, which prompted White to punch him in the chest. The witness advised that “at one point Julia armed herself with a kitchen knife and was pointing it at Victim and telling him to get out.”
“Witness advised that she went to the basement at this time and approximately 10 minutes later went back upstairs and found her mother in the kitchen crying,” the Criminal Complaint said. “Witness would not go into further details at this point.”

“It should be noted that Julia did not report any disturbance or a stabbing to law enforcement or emergency personnel at all, much less in the approximate time period of the incident. Julia indicated that the victim threatened to report the incident to law enforcement upon exit of the residence,” the Complaint said. “Julia indicated she heard sirens approximately 10 minutes later and made assumptions that the incident had been reported.”
“Officers could smell the odor of cleaning supplies upon initial contact with Julia and entry into the residence,” the Complaint said. “Also located in the residence were cleaning supplies out in the open of the residence. The only possible blood located within the house was located on the steps within the residence leading to the second floor. The blood trail started directly outside of the main entrance of the door and led away from the residence. Julia White’s clothing also had what appears to be dried blood on them.”
During the hearing, defense attorney Chris Restemayer, appearing specially for the defendant, strongly defended White’s actions. “I do see this as a self-defense situation. Miss [White] sitting next to me, I see as a victim,” Restemayer said. “Somebody invaded into her home and attacked her, brutally strangling her, and then she defended herself with a knife.” Restemayer pushed back against the state’s case, arguing, “As of right now, the state’s admitted that they don’t [have] any evidence to — at least reading between the lines — to overcome that. And until they do, I see that keeping my client in jail on what is on paper, at least right now based on the evidence presented, a very strong self-defense claim, would be an injustice.”

Complications and an active investigation
The self-defense claim is complicated by the fact that White cleaned up the scene and failed to call law enforcement to report the incident.

“When law enforcement went into the house, they informed me that they immediately smelled bleach,” Ellis told the court. Furthermore, White’s clothing appeared to have dried blood on it, he said.
Ellis argued that these actions undermine her defense. “If this was a self-defense situation, I’m speculating that someone would have called law enforcement that — if it was self-defense, that they would have provided a cooperative statement,” Ellis told the court.
Ellis emphasized that “this is still an ongoing investigation” and the State has not ruled out elevating the charges to intentional homicide or attempted intentional homicide. “There is some specific detail that I would like to have prior to making that specific decision,” Ellis explained. He noted the challenges of the case, saying, “Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly what occurred that night. The defendant did not give much of a statement and her child ... gave some fairly vague statements and actually stopped talking at some point.”

Bail situation and bond conditions
During the hearing, Ellis noted the severity of the injuries but explained he was hesitant to request a high bail amount because of the potential self-defense claim. Ellis stated he did not want a situation where they were keeping White in custody when “essentially we might even have a victim in the situation,” though he ultimately recommended a $100,000 cash bond.

Restemayer requested a signature bond, expanding on the devastating impact jail would have on White’s family. He explained that White is a “full-time, fully employed” mother with “three young children that could rely on her, under the age of 18” and an adult daughter living with them. Restemayer argued that “further incarceration [she] risks losing her children, risks losing her employment, risks losing her home.”
Judge Galen Bayne-Allison acknowledged the gravity of the incident, stating that White “inflicted an apparently life-threatening injury” to a part of the chest “that contains some of the most vital organs in the body like the heart and the lung.” However, he agreed that high monetary bail was not appropriate, noting that “even if it was a deliberate non-defensive act, her culpability is mitigated — if in fact the victim in this case had shortly prior committed an assault against her.”
The judge rejected the $100,000 recommendation but also denied a signature bond, citing a “temporal disconnect between her arming herself with the knife and an assault that may have been committed on her.” The judge added that “the attempt on the part of Miss White to clean up the evidence in her residence ... reflects consciousness of guilt.”
The judge ultimately ordered a combination bond consisting of a $10,000 cash bond and a $40,000 signature bond. White is ordered to maintain absolute sobriety, may not enter premises licensed for the sale or service of alcohol, and may not possess any dangerous weapons. Furthermore, she must have no contact with the victim or any member of his family to the second degree, cannot go within 500 feet of his residence, and cannot be on any premises occupied by him.

Options for an attorney

White’s legal representation remains uncertain, as Restemayer confirmed she is “ineligible ... at this time” for a state public defender.
Judge Bayne-Allison acknowledged that this “puts you in a difficult situation,” explaining that White “may or may not be eligible” for even court-appointed counsel depending on her financial circumstances.
Because of this limbo, the judge officially paused the strict 10-day legal deadline for her preliminary hearing. The judge stated he would “find good cause to toll applicable time limits” so that White has time to complete a petition for court-appointed counsel and does not have to proceed without an attorney. White is scheduled to appear by video for a follow-up hearing to address her petition on Wednesday, April 1.