Woman pleaded guilty to knife attack, family pleads to keep her in Pendleton

By KATHY ANEY

East Oregonian

The woman who cut a man’s throat while in a mental crisis will not have to go to the Oregon State Hospital.

Vanessa Logman never denied pulling a knife and cutting Bill Porter’s neck near Pilot Rock and injuring his ex-wife on July 4, 2015. Psychological evaluations suggest that the mother of four had a break with reality driven by her bipolar disorder and a change in medication. The defense and prosecution agreed to request 10 years under supervision by the state Psychiatric Security Review Board in exchange for Logman pleading guilty to assaulting Brenda Porter. The judge agreed.

The only question was whether Logman would continue treatment in Pendleton or go to the state mental hospital in Salem.

On Wednesday, Logman sat in the gallery holding hands with her husband Dan, waiting for court. Around them sat 25 friends and family members. That morning, Logman, 32, had hugged her sons goodbye, knowing she might not return home for days, months or years. As they sat waiting, Dan leaned close and whispered to her. Nervousness fled for a moment as she laughed.

Umatilla County Circuit Court Judge Daniel J. Hill would need to consider whether Logman, who had only a traffic violation before the attack, could become violent again. Logman joined Pendleton attorney Michael Breiling at the defense table.

During the next hours, Breiling pushed for treating his client locally and not tearing her away from her support system. For the state, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jaclyn Jenkins argued against, saying Logman had a history of falling off her medications and past drug and alcohol use.

They examined details of the attack. Warning signs came days earlier.

One red flag appeared a few nights prior when Logman awoke certain that someone was hiding under their king-size bed. She was sure the person had stuck something through the mattress and poked her. The police, summoned by Vanessa at 2 a.m., found no one under the bed.

At the urging of family, she headed to the Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center the next morning to talk to a counselor, but couldn’t get an appointment until 12 days later. Later that day, she disappeared. Dan arrived home to find his dinner warm, but Vanessa, their four young sons and the family van gone. With the gas tank nearly empty and with no food or water, she drove to Indian Lake, near Pilot Rock.

Vanessa told Hill she remembers only “bits and pieces.” She recalled receiving a text from her mother, telling her to go to the lake. No actual text was sent.

Campers recall Logman acting oddly. She didn’t sleep, believing people were shooting arrows at her and her children. The next morning, she fled on foot with the boys on the gravel road that would reach Pilot Rock in 21 miles. Temperatures reached 90 degrees and climbed.

When she saw Bill and Brenda Porter’s truck, she waved them down and got in back with the boys. Fear suddenly gripped her, Logman said, and she remembers telling him to stop again and again. Later she learned she hadn’t shouted those words at all.

“I’m not sure what’s real,” she told Hill.

According to police reports, she pulled a knife from her purse, grabbed Bill Porter’s shoulder and sliced into his throat. The Hermiston man braked and he and Brenda pulled Vanessa from the truck, wresting the knife from her hand.

Since the attack, except for 26 days in jail, family members have monitored Logman and transported her to required mental health appointments. Dan observed his wife taking medication and wrote each time in a logbook.

Two mental health professionals, Pendleton psychologist Terrel Templeman, who conducted multiple mental health evaluations, and Rachele Burke, a licensed clinical social worker from Lifeways, recommended a conditional release. They said Logman, who is stabilized with an effective medication regime, has a good local support system. Burke would act as a monitor for the state’s Psychiatric Security Review Board, which supervises individuals who have been guilty except for insanity.

Jenkins pushed back.

“Let’s not make assumptions that Ms. Logman is not dangerous,” she said. “She stabbed someone in the neck and injured another individual. The State’s concern is we don’t want to be here again in three months, six months or a year.”

Breiling said a “threadbare mental health system” is partly to blame for the attack. If Logman could have gotten help the day before, she likely wouldn’t have gone off the rails.

“It’s tragic this happened at all,” he said. “She actually sought help. It is frankly a terrible pity that it required Mr. Porter to be injured for her to get it.”

Bill Porter, who also has bipolar disorder, took the stand and urged the judge to send Logman to Salem.

“She did try to kill me, whether she was in a mental state or not,” Porter said. “She needs to pay for her crime in one way or another.”

Hill decided to keep her in Pendleton, opting for a conditional release. The list of conditions, including frequency of therapy and other requirements, is forthcoming.

After the judge’s decision, Porter wore a tight expression as he headed toward the exit of the Stafford Hansell Government Center.

“Unfortunately, all you have to do is claim insanity and you get away with murder,” he said.

Dan and Vanessa Logman came together into a emotional hug.

“We had faith in God, a great attorney and a strong case,” Dan said.

“I’m relieved,” Vanessa said. “I feel a lot better.”

The attack haunts both of them, though, so they do the only thing they can think to do.

“We pray for Mr. Porter every night,” Dan said.

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Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or 941-966-0810.