When detective Arbogast is walking up the stairs of the mansion, Norman comes running out of the room and stabs Arbogast in the stomach but when it goes to a shot of Arbogasts face, he's been stabbed in the forehead.
I believe "mother" swung the knife in a downward arc, merely slashing Arbogast's face and causing him to lose his balance on the stairs. She delivered the killing blow at the bottom of the stairs.