Attempted murder suspect freed from jail; grand jury issues no indictment

Virginia Frye speaks to her defense attorney, Ron Findell, during a recent hearing in Whitley Circuit Court. Fry was held in jail for 41 days before being released Monday.

After spending 41 days in jail for allegedly stabbing a woman last month, Virginia Lynn Frye was a free woman Monday afternoon but her days of freedom could still be numbered.

On May 2, Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Shawn Jackson charged Frye, 30, with attempted murder and tampering with physical evidence stemming from a May 1 altercation with Erica Petrey Canada that left Canada with a collapsed lung.

Jackson also charged Frye’s boyfriend, Arliss McKiddy, with tampering with physical evidence for allegedly removing the knife that was used during the fight from the crime scene and cleaning blood off of it.

Jackson presented evidence concerning the case to a Whitley County Grand Jury last week but the grand jury returned no true bill or no indictment Monday morning against Frye and McKiddy in connection with the case.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble said the victim was advised that the grand jury wanted to hear her testimony but she didn’t show up Monday morning to testify.

"The grand jury just didn’t have enough evidence," Trimble noted. "I expect that it will be presented again to the grand jury next month."

Frye’s attorney, public defender Ron Findell, said that so far his client is pleased she wasn’t indicted.

Findell said he doesn’t know if his client will testify before the grand jury if the case is presented again in July.

"I’ve informed her of the facts and the concerns about appearing before the grand jury and told her to get back to me later in the month as to whether she wants to appear," he said.

Frye was released from the Whitley County Detention Center at 3:44 p.m. Monday.

During the altercation, which took place in a driveway at 18503 Highway 92 East, Frye was armed with a butcher knife and Canada suffered six stab wounds one of which led to a collapsed lung and a stay of a few weeks in the hospital.

Canada was armed with a small metal jack handle and Frye suffered a small punctured wound to the side of her face. She had to have a few stitches and was released from the emergency room that night, Jackson testified during a hearing last week.
The two had exchanged some heated telephone conversations where some threats were made involving some children, Jackson said.

"The investigation revealed that they had a problem with one another," he said.

When Canada arrived at the residence where the fight took place, Frye came out of her home and into the road with a knife and Canada walked to the end of the driveway where Frye was located.

Canada told police that she went there to talk to Frye in order to resolve their differences and didn’t want any violence.

Jackson said that when he interviewed the victim three weeks ago, she told him that she didn’t have a weapon during the altercation but later clarified her statement that she didn’t initially have a weapon.

Frye had been held in jail on a $1 million bond until last week’s hearing when District Judge Fred White lowered her bond to $250,000 cash.

McKiddy had been free on bond since May 25.