Woman accused of cutting man’s throat after asking for ride

PENDLETON, Ore. – An Oregon woman has been charged with attempted murder after authorities say she sliced the throat of a motorist who agreed to give her a lift.

The incident happened Saturday near Pilot Rock, a small community in eastern Oregon, Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan said. Bill Porter and his ex-wife Brenda Porter were traveling in a silver Dodge pickup when Vanessa Logman flagged him down, he said.

Logman, 30, who was with her four children, asked for a ride to St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton.

Porter obliged. Logman and her kids climbed into the back seat, and the pickup headed down the road.

Logman then pulled a knife from her purse, Rowan said. She grabbed Porter’s shoulder, reached over the seat and cut his throat.

Porter stopped the pickup and pulled Logman from the vehicle. He and Brenda Porter wrestled the knife away. They and two passers-by subdued Logman and used a belt to tie her hands behind her back while waiting for law enforcement to arrive.

Logman was booked into the Umatilla County Jail on charges of attempted murder, assault and unlawful use of a weapon, Undersheriff Jim Littlefield told the East Oregonian. Jail records show she was still there Monday afternoon.

Logman told investigators that she suffers from mental illness and was hallucinating, Littlefield said. The sheriff’s office is investigating those claims. Court records do not list an attorney for Logman, meaning she will likely have a public defender assigned to her when she appears before a judge.

Bill Porter needed 11 stitches at St. Anthony Hospital, but he did not require an overnight stay, Littlefield said.

The children, ages 11, 10 and 6-year-old twins, were taken into custody by social workers from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.