Grace E. Barker appears in Lewis County Superior Court today.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The 26-year-old woman accused of stabbing the father of her baby in the neck at his Mossyrock home was brought before a judge today for her first court appearance.
Grace E. Barker was rolled in a chair to which she was restrained into Lewis County Super Court.
Barker was non-communicative yesterday at the jail, and missed her scheduled appearance, but the judge told corrections officers she had to see him today, even if it meant employing a so-called drag order.
Barker said very little, except for “yes” when Judge Richard Brosey asked if Grace Barker was her true and correct name.
She was represented at the hearing by defense attorney Joely O’Rourke.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Nelson requested she be held on $1 million bail, noting the charges against her could change.
At last check, the victim was in critical condition, Nelson said.
Barker is charged with first-degree assault, an offense with a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Prosecutors wrote in court documents that Brian Slater was trying to get her to leave his residence when she picked up a knife, and he armed himself with a knife and when he threw his down thinking she had done the same, she stabbed him in the throat.
He was interviewed at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle before he underwent surgery.
Both Nelson and the judge spoke of getting an order on Monday, to have Barker’s competency evaluated by Western State Hospital. Brosey said he expected she could be seen by a doctor within 72 hours after that.
The judge appointed Centralia lawyer Shane O’Rourke to represent her. He set her bail at $500,000.
The judge also signed a no-contact order with the victim. He scheduled her arraignment for Thursday.
Jail staff emptied the courtroom of other defendants who made their first appearances this afternoon before bringing Barker up from the jail. They’re usually brought into court in groups.
Joely O’Rourke, who has worked in the courthouse since 2009, said she believed that was only the second time she’d seen a defendant brought to court in a restraint chair.
After Barker’s hearing was finished and she was taken back down to the Lewis County Jail, corrections officers brought another defendant into the courtroom in a restraint chair.
Shaylor L. Black also said very little.
Black was booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday for possession of methamphetamine as Jane Doe, as Chehalis police weren’t certain of her real name.
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For background, read “Mossyrock argument: Two knives, one airlifted, other arrested” from Thursday April 7, 2016, here
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The second of two defendants brought to Lewis County Superior Court today from the jail in a restraint chair, Shaylor L. Black, was accompanied by four corrections officers.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Well ur right what the fuck do u know i pervide nothing but the truth if its a bad thing for some than o fucking well guess if ppl disnt want the truth to ve told shouldnt have ppm around when ur doin what it us you r doind
Well, cleaning houses, if u know this ‘sick fucking bitch’. I would hope u inform her of what u say she’s part of the problem that lead Gracie to do what she did. Eliminate the problem. I think the problem goes deeper and will still be an issue, but what do I know.
Yeah Vada, this chick is a different mental defect that is about as close to the situation as you are and the person who provided the garbage to grace when she slipped. A real sick fucking bitch.
Jokerjoker I think I owe u an apology. U aren’t who I truly thought u were. What I posted was meant for who I thought u were, not u. U did say tho that u have seen the abuse, as some others u said would back that story. I do find that hard to beleeve as I’ve never seen Brian be anything but pleasant. I’m not saying he’s not inacent, because there’s always 3 sides to a story…. Her side, his side, and the truth.
You will never meet me im no tweaker nore do i steel from ppl but ive seen with my own eyes what i said i could care less who beleaves me im not standing trial just stateing the fact if u didnt want them then maybe u should have thought about that while u put hand in her thar also left marks yeah but what joke right its one thing to defend someone buy trust and theres the thing that ppl witness and beleave there will be more ppl that can back up what i say u will see and to the one that want to meet me you are wasting your time you dont wanna see me i guarantee that shit you already know me just havent realized it yet…lol…
Appledoesntfallfarfromthetree, u hit the nail on the head. I myself haven’t had the pleasure of meeting joker joker, but have I heard things…YES! And funny thing is, not one thing I heard was good or positive. I’m sure that has had a lot of effect on Gracie, and her siblings, in a very negitive way. So, hey, jokerjoker, in my opinion u are a joke. Grow some brains and do something good for a change. If it’s possable. While ur at it, why don’t u bring the stolen items back to where they belong, to the one who owns them. U sure as hell aren’t smart enough to use any thing u took, or had someone take. Why u gotta kick a man when he’s down? Never mind…that’s just the kinda person u are. More and more people are realizing what and who u are. Just keep backing it up with ur actions, and shooting off with ur idiot ass mouth. I hope someday we will meet, in person. Oh yes, I sure do… Until then wise up, joker!
I wish i had a sane mother in law type that would be able to tell grace that i love her and am not angry with her at all and that would not spread lies and gossip about me to try and make a justification for what she did that she doesn’t even need. I wish this was not the role model grace had available to her throughout life. Things may have been different. This is also not your first child that ended up ina court room for the same sort of thing. There is already a person in that jail for things they did to and because of children of yours and they are guilty as sin yet you lay the blame on Gracie and feel sorry for the guy. Now you attack a person who has given all he has to give for your daughter and blame him for something she did to him. Thats sick. Its sick to a degree that i firmly believe that if i was to have stabbed gracie instead of her me, you would be defending me instead of making up lies about me. For once in your life start thinking about someone other thsn yourself and be there for Gracie because I can’t. Do yourself a favor and look up histrionic personality disorder, show it to a few peoplr thst know you and watch the look on their face. Dollars to donuts says that you wont be on good terms with them shortly there after.
Nannette you need to take care of yourself. I hope you are getting enough time with loved ones, getting enough to eat, and getting enough to sleep. I hope you figure out whatever is causing you to be so troubled and can remove yourself from it. I just spent the last two years dealing with this type of delusional bullshit with Grace, most of it in the last six months, but i did it because we were together and because i love her. The thanks i get is a knife in the neck because people like you feed into her delusions. She stabbed me because she thought i killed her children and was lying to her about they being taken away. She knew that wasn’t real 10 mins before. I care about you nan and i know you are upset. I am not your boyfriend and I am noy going through this lets pretend horrible thoughts that come to my head are real bullshit with you. Give a guy who just gave about all he had including his heart and almost his life to your daughter a break and try and spread the crazy a little bit more thin for everyones sake. Take care of yourself and please stop with the vandalizing of my property amd making false allegations against me that are so easy to be proven false or I will be forced to contact law enforcment and seek a civil suit. If you had any idea what i have been doing to make sure that gracie gets the best help she can and that peoplr dont think ill of her you would shut up. You know and i know I am not abusive or even a little bit violent. She isnt going to mount a self defense argument because its a lie and she doesn’t have to. She wasnt defending herself and we were not in an argument. She attscked me because she was clinically and legally insane and having dillusions. And frankly so are you.
The victum lol funny thing hes no vicrum ive witnessed with my own eyes plenty abuse on hus part one time in witch he had the second oldest literally pined on ground in middle of them maybe she finnally got tired of him putting hands on her i know im not the only iknev whos seen his violent behavior toward her you cant call someone a victim that had it comein sooner or later but thats what u get for self defense i guess to bad nobody else has the balls to speak the truth bout what probly led to her grabbing the knife in the first place a person can only handle so much before they finally stick up for their selfs so if anyone give money to the real victom and put money on that girls books cause eaven god his self knows hes no victim
A Go Fund ME Campaign was started to help the victim.
https://www.gofundme.com/p6yeyg9g