The case of Vanessa Logman inched forward on Monday with another pre-trial hearing.

The mother of four attacked a Good Samaritan who stopped to give her and her sons a ride near Pilot Rock on June 4, 2016. The Pendleton woman pulled a knife from her purse and cut the throat of Bill Porter, of Hermiston, and injured his ex-wife Brenda Porter. Logman has undergone psychiatric examinations to determine her mental state during the attack of which she has said she has only fuzzy memories.

The latest psychiatric examination, conducted by a mental health professional from the state’s Psychiatric Security Review Board, hasn’t yet been filed, though the deadline was June 28, according to Logman’s attorney Michael Breiling. Umatilla Circuit Court Judge Daniel J. Hill will consider the coming report when deciding whether Logman should continue to receive psychiatric treatment locally, as she has for more than a year, or be housed at the Oregon State Hospital.

The night before the attack, Logman’s husband, Dan, arrived home from work to find dinner prepared and evidence that his boys had been playing in the yard, but no family. Vanessa, who has bipolar disorder, had set off in the family van for Indian Lake with her sons. She took no food, water or camping gear and the Ford Windstar’s gas tank was almost empty. The family slept in the van and, according to Dan, Vanessa progressed to “a full-on delusional state,” believing she was being chased.

Vanessa, who previously had only a single traffic violation on her record, doesn’t dispute that she did the crime. She seeks a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Early on, Breiling negotiated terms of release for his client that required 24-hour supervision and medication monitoring by Logman’s husband or mother. During Monday’s hearing, Breiling asked for an easing of that requirement.

“There have been no issues at all,” Breiling said. “We ask that Mr. Logman and her mother still supervise her medications, but that they have a few hours to themselves from time to time.”

Jackie Jenkins, who is chief deputy district attorney for Umatilla County, objected to any modification of Logman’s terms of release.

“It’s great that the defendant has not had any outbursts or violent acts since the time that she was arrested for stabbing someone in the neck,” Jenkins said. “But the state believes that was due in part to the fact that she was supervised. The state has legitimate concerns that this defendant, if left to her own devices, could harm someone.”

Judge Hill denied the request.

After the hearing, Dan Logman expressed frustration.

“Obviously we feel differently – that my wife is not a threat,” he said. “There were known medication changes going on at the time of the incident that have since been corrected. She has maintained stability every day before and since the incident. Based on that, we feel that she should be granted the conditional release.”

He said the past year has been rough on the family.

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

Judge Hill set the next pretrial hearing for 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 28.

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Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810.