$1 million bond for teen in pregnant girlfriend’s death

The teen charged Monday with stabbing his pregnant girlfriend to death was released from jail in the spring because there was no room in mental health services, court documents show. Robbie W. Bishop, 19, was declared incompetent to stand trial on burglary, theft and malicious mischief charges and was to undergo treatment at Eastern State Hospital. But in April, nearly four months after the charges were filed, the hospital still didn’t have room for him, leading to the dismissal of his charges. Bishop was to undergo a mental health evaluation before being released, according to a document filed April 9. Bishop returned to jail late Saturday, accused of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of Robin M. Anderson, 33. Police say Anderson was stabbed more than 20 times that night with three knives, one of which was protruding from her back when officers found her in the living room of a home where she and Bishop were staying at 901 W. Bowman in Spokane Valley. The home belongs to Bishop’s cousin, according to a probable cause affidavit. That cousin called 911 after Bishop called her and said “he had stabbed Robin and she had stabbed him in the back,” according to court documents. Bishop was treated for stab wounds to a hand after police arrested him a couple blocks from the home. Judge Sam Cozza ordered him held on $1 million bond during his first court appearance Monday. Bishop’s mother, Lisa Draper, said she visited Bishop in jail and said he continued to ask if Anderson was really dead and “if he could see his son.” Police first responded to reports of violence between the couple in December 2008, when Anderson said Bishop had punched her several times, according to court papers. When officers arrived, she said Bishop had broken into a Meals on Wheels office a week earlier, leading to his arrest. Charges were filed in January, and Bishop underwent mental evaluations that determined he wasn’t fit for trial, according to court documents. But the program he needed at Eastern was full, court documents show, leading to his release in April. Hospital officials did not return phone calls seeking comment. Bishop has been diagnosed with mild mental retardation and lives on disability payments, Draper said. He met Anderson, who was also unemployed, at Riverfront Park on July 4, 2008, she said. They’d lived together since then but fought often, Draper said. “It was fighting over money, fighting over what they’re going to buy to fighting over what they were going to wear,” Draper said. Anderson’s pregnancy was an additional stress on their relationship, Draper said. Bishop and Anderson were fighting over custody of the child when “she attacked him first so he retaliated and unfortunately didn’t stop,” Draper said. Court papers show police quickly ruled out the self defense allegation. “The multiple stab wounds, location of those wounds, and the manner in which the victim died was very violent and appears consistent with an attack greater than self defense,” according to a probable cause affidavit prepared by Spokane County Sheriff’s Detective Lyle Johnston.