Grace E. Barker turns toward the gallery in Lewis County Superior Court during her hearing.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend in the neck at his Mossyrock home was found competent so her case could continue and pleaded not guilty yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court.
Grace E. Barker, 26, was evaluated at the Lewis County Jail by personnel from the state’s psychiatric hospital, according to her lawyer.
Barker was arrested on April 6 following the incident at the 200 block of Mossyrock Road West, and subsequently charged with first-degree assault. The offense carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Defense attorney Shane O’Rourke told a judge yesterday afternoon, his client would be withdrawing her previous plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
He told the judge that wasn’t a viable route, based on the work they’d done so far on the case. He didn’t offer further detail.
Prosecutors wrote in court documents that Brian Slater was trying to get Barker 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.
Slater spent about three days at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a punctured lung and other injuries before being released. He has said the weapon was 10-inch long stiletto.
Concern about Barker’s mental stability led to postponements and the visit from Western State Hospital.
While she was found competent enough to understand and assist in her own defense, she made the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity a few weeks ago. O’Rourke explained that has to do with the question of whether a person is sane at the time of the incident.
Outside the courtroom yesterday, he reiterated they withdrew that plea only for the general reason he gave the judge.
He will be focused on a self defense argument, O’Rourke said.
Slater, her boyfriend and the father of her child, has said he supports her 100 percent and wants to see her get help instead of a jail cell.
Barker’s trial is scheduled for the week of June 20 in Lewis County Superior Court. She remains held on $500,000 bail.
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For background, read “Mossyrock argument: Two knives, one airlifted, other arrested” from Thursday April 7, 2016, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Crazy old man I have to call bullshit, I couldnt have been in there any more than 45 mins and thats being generous. I do remember most of them seemed to think it was funny until a skinny doctor called them to “take this seriously, just becauee of the size of the wound, it could still be very deep” where they took me in for an image and then it was in very short order they put in a chest tube and had me out the door to meet the life flight.
Brandon Piatt. I decided to take a page out of your book here and i decided to give this publication my evaluation of you. I have no idea who the hell you are of course but i made sure i did a deep and through investigation much like yourself. Asked exactly two people ( and I made sure they were drug addicts) “Who in the fuck is Brandon Piatt?” Without batting an eyelash or asking me the nature of the question. The first answer “Some worthless fucking thief” he went on to explain thst you bad taken advantage of him going to the bathroom and had been pilfering items from his bedroom. The second reffered to you as “A fucking peice of shit” and would not elbaorate.
So, i know Gracie as well and know shes crazy yada yada, but now based on the fact that i have no clue who you are and the word of two random drug addicts i can assure everyone here that you are a fucking peice of shit theif. Because hey, they wouldnt say it if it wasnt true right? Maybe i should have asked two crazy drug addicts to make my exparament perfect. King gringo, i know there arent a lot of telephone booths around so its getting harder and harder to put on your underwear outside of your pants and transform into the truest superhero of our day, Captain Obvious, but hey, it’s aparent day here at camp stupid. No worries. Take a day off.
“Buy the ticket, take the ride”
Whatever happens in this case happens, but it does the children absolutely no good to grow up in this environment. Adults make choices, for better or for worse, but kids have no choice at all.
I personally know Gracie, and she is totally crazy, you can’t convince me she isn’t. And as far as Brian goes, you better believe that he is just as crazy and violent as she is. She does deserve punishment of some sort but I also know that she needs psychological help. She is a very unstable person and she has been for as long as I’ve known her. And I’ve known her for about 12 years now. I really hope that other couples see this and appreciate the relationships that they have and find more constructive ways to conduct themselves in a family matter.
Bottom line: She had a knife, He had a knife. I agree with Bo Rupert’s original post. My guess is that Mr. Slater was giving as good as he was getting right up to the point where she snapped and stabbed him in the neck. When I was young, I never left sharp objects laying around when dealing with crazy chicks.
Incidentally I was in the Morton emergency room just about ready for them to deal with my wounds from my encounter with my table saw when Mr. Slater arrived and I was left to bleed on their floor for another 90 minutes while they dealt with him.
She needs a good lawyer but that costs money. For $25k she should be able to walk free in Lewis County.
I thought she stabbed him from behind, after he dropped his knife and turned away from her? Sounds more like attempted murder than assault.
You’re right. I wasn’t there when the stabbing occurred as I was too busy raising their baby for them. I have stayed at the house with both of them and they have stayed at my house with me. I have seen with my eyes the internal workings of their relationship and Grace is NOT a battered woman. She is a woman that hits and punches and kicks and acts in all manner of violent ways towards others and cries abuse when she is physically restrained or in any way retaliated against. Grace is mentally ill and she is dangerous. She needs help and belongs in a mental hospital and not a jail cell. Since that is not likely to happen, the next best thing for her is a few years in a jail cell on proper medication. Anyone that wants to see her acquitted, including Brian, is a fool.
I have already laid it oug there in the beginning and i will say i told u so why wlse is he fighting to get it droped cause he know if it dont its going to get out that he dies and has hit her cant wait to see what cones out of all this
I personally think that charges should be dropped. I also think that she was acting in self defense. Two people had knives that is already a disastrous situation. From where he was stabbed it is obvious that they were in close proximity to each other. A lot of people are right things are not adding up and there is more than we are being told.
“Bo Rupert says:
Well it’s not up to you what I will be or won’t be. How do you know what happened were you there???? How do you know he picked it up in self defense and not her? How do you know he dropped it?”
They weren’t there. They’re going by what Mr. Slater says. And Mr. Slater may not be the most credible witness.
Just sayin’……..
Well, I don’t really care what Mr. Slater and his band of followers say – there is more to this story and what led up to what happened. And if Grace’s (and, no, not everyone calls her Gracie) attorney is doing his job, those things will come out and the self-defense argument could very well be a viable option.
Well it’s not up to you what I will be or won’t be. How do you know what happened were you there???? How do you know he picked it up in self defense and not her? How do you know he dropped it? You sound like you know a lot for someone who wasn’t there.
Gee Brian, it may not be such a good idea discussing the case on here.
Bo, she stabbed him in the neck after he put down his knife, which he picked up in self defense, You aint never gonna be a lawyer, if she doesnt do hard time, then fuck the justice system
Oh, how I just wanna play a guitar solo to this story.
10 3/4 inch i just replaced the one she stabbed me with Ishould point out the article says “Outside the court room he reiterated, they only withdrew the plea for the general reason they gave the judge.” And earlier in the article when theybspoke of switching from insanity that reason was “That was not a viable route, based on the work they had done in the case”
That being said I do know why he thinks it wont work and I i wont go jnto detail about that. The truth is already out and thats bad for Gracie. Unfortunaly truth and fact seem to be to difficult to “prove” for the defense. It’s fucked up and she should be aquitted. Now as far as being a “So called” victim goes, and if what Gringo says is true about me and her being the only two who knows what happend. You should ask me as I was there. When a person is stabbed it makes thsm a victim plain and simple. And i am sorry that you were slapped around by some assholes in your lifetime but not every guy is a secret abuser and sometimes when people need a competancy evaluation because they have spent almost the entire year of 2016 either in jail or involentary pysychiatric wards only leaveing to try and jump off bridges and stab people, that when they initially plead insanity, It might be because they were actually insane and not because she is dating the type of guy that you or your mom or whoever tou are projecting onto this has been dating. #teamgrace my ass, it’s #JusticeforGracie (she goes by Gracie) and there is no team Slater you fucking dolt. I want the prosecution to drop the charges. As I told Will Halstead the other day when I spoke with him. Which I plan on getting to in another message now that I have addressed the conspiracy of an abusive male bullshit upfront. She doesnt have a fucking case as there was no fight or assault on her. This is bad. But i think I may know what he will try and do…….
Seriously, Erin? She was inside someone else’s home and when asked to leave, grabbed a knife. Even without following through in stabbing someone, she was already committing a crime. As for you Mr. Pre Law, what happens when the crazy person gets back out? She spent the months between January and April in and out of mental institutions. Every single time she was released, she stopped taking her medications, starting taking meth and either attempted suicide or inflicted violence on others. If anything, I think this case is a PERFECT example of why we need a third tier sentencing option for people who are severely mentally ill, but were also aware that their actions were against the law. Grace was given every opportunity and every service available to DSHS. She was given drug treatment, mental health treatment, financial assistance, you name it she got it. I know her situation better than just about anybody on here. Anyone that has only one side of it that is jumping on “Team Grace” or “Team Brian” is truly ignorant. Anyone that knows both sides inside and out as I do realizes that they were both to blame, although Brian’s weakness was always giving in to her and allowing her to stay mostly for the sake of the children. He should have thrown her out and called the police every single time she returned. I’m not saying she’s a bad person. I’m saying that she is dangerously mentally ill and has fought every attempt to get her the help that she needs. Grace had two distinct states of mind, she was either confused and frightened OR furious and violent. I have watched her rage becoming physically abusive and then cry “battered spouse” when restrained. I have watched her scream hateful things into the faces of her children. I have also watched her sob brokenly about how afraid and mixed up she is inside. She needs HELP. She’s not going to get it now. They won’t help her in prison and if she is found not guilty and released, she will hurt herself or someone else. Although, sadly, I’m betting it is herself as regardless of the trial outcome, she is going to lose her parental rights to all four children.
Funny thing is…the “so called victim” is #TeamGrace too. I think a self defense case is the last thing this defense should attempt.
(& psst….Bo, I’m pretty sure that was facetious)
Studying law!! Hahaha the funniest thing I’ve heard on here!! Where Oklahoma with ur ex u ripped off?? Also if ur studying law u better google ur own name and get that filthy filthy stuff off ur pages. Get no where in law asking escorts out bo huh?? Laughing myself silly with the dumbest stuff u post on here!!! Ignorant ur middle name!!
Correction: A ten-inch knife. My bad.
Erin, I totally agree in hoping that the truth comes out in the trial but right now, the only thing anyone beyond the two participants knows is that one person was stabbed with a six-inch knife and it wasn’t Grace.
I am studying pre law now
I hope the truth comes out at the trial. There is still so much that hasn’t been presented to the public and the so-called “victim” in this incident is hardly blameless in what transpired that day. #TeamGrace
Mr. Rupert,
You always have such great legal advice for those in our community! Have you considered enrolling in law school? I think you would be amazing!
Sincerely,
Said no one ever
This is unbelievably crazy. That is all I can say.
All it takes for a self defense argument to be successful is for one to establish that they had a reasonable fear for their lives or safety. With the second person having a knife she should have a pretty good chance. Hope you pull it off.
From the sounds of things she has a very decent chance of being successful with a self defense argument. They both had knives it sounds like. So if he had a knife as well then she could argue self defense especially if she argues that she didn’t know he dropped his. I would NOT take a plea bargain if I was her. There is just too many variables. I think this is a very good defense argument.