Woman accused of butcher knife attack takes plea deal, to serve five years

Just before jury selection was set to begin Wednesday morning for a Whitley County woman accused stabbing another woman six times with a butcher knife last year, prosecutors and defense attorneys reached a plea bargain in the case.

Virginia Lynn Frye, 30, was originally indicted for first-degree assault in connection with the May 1, 2012 incident that occurred in far eastern Whitley County.

Wednesday morning she entered an Alford plea to a reduced charge of first-degree wanton endangerment in exchange for prosecutors recommending a five-year prison sentence.

Her boyfriend, Arlis Junior McKiddy, 52, entered an Alford plea Wednesday to tampering with physical evidence for allegedly picking up the knife used during the altercation and leaving the crime scene with it.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors recommended an 18-month prison sentence for McKiddy that will be probated for three years.

An Alford plea means that a person still maintains their innocence but acknowledges that prosecutors likely have enough evidence to convict them at trial.

Judge Paul Winchester scheduled June 17 formal sentencing hearings in both cases.

"In the mean time you can remain free on the same bond so you can get your affairs in order," Winchester told Frye.

Frye and McKiddy lived at 18893 Highway 92 East at the time of the altercation.

During the altercation, which took place in a driveway at 18503 Highway 92 East, Frye was armed with a butcher knife and Erica Petrey 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 puncture wound to the side of her face. She had to have a few stitches and was released from the emergency room that night, Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Shawn Jackson testified during a hearing last year.

Frye and Canada had exchanged some heated telephone conservations 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 first interviewed the victim, she told him that she didn’t have a weapon during the altercation but she later clarified her statement that she didn’t initially have a weapon.

Frye’s attorney, public defender Jim Wren II, maintains that his client acted in self-defense.

"We had what I felt was a good self-defense claim," Wren said. "In light of the possibility that a jury would reject that we decided to plea to a lesser offense."

Had Frye been convicted of first-degree assault, she could have been sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison, and she wouldn’t have been eligible for parole until serving 85 percent of that sentence.

She will be eligible for parole on the first-degree wanton endangerment charge after serving 15 percent of her sentence.

Frye has already served about two months in jail in connection with the case.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble, the prosecutor in the case, noted that both the victim and investigating officer agreed with resolving the case through a plea agreement.

"I think that probably justice was done in this case," Trimble said.

He noted that investigating officers found another knife at the crime scene besides the one that Canada was stabbed with.

Because no one had an explanation for where the other knife came from, Trimble said prosecutors were concerned that this could have caused the jury to find reasonable doubt and not convict Frye.

"We amended the charges and she accepted a sentence to serve," he added.