Poway

A Poway woman who admitted stabbing her 6-year-old daughter in the chest and then turning the knife on herself was sentenced Monday to spend an indefinite period of time in a psychiatric hospital.

Antonia Francis Garner, 43, will spend up to seven years in the facility for her conviction on assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury.

Municipal Judge John M. Thompson ordered Garner to remain under medical supervision until she shows significant improvement in her mental condition.

Thompson would have to approve Garner’s release if medical authorities make that request before the end of the seven years, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Dave Rubin.

According to a Probation Department report, Garner admits to suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, a condition that has affected her for years.

Garner’s child has made a full recovery, Rubin said, but he could not say who was caring for her.

Garner, of the 13500 block of Acton Avenue, pleaded guilty to the assault charge Feb. 13 after initially being charged with attempted murder.