Man in Jail After Pulling Knife on 2 Wk Old Baby, WA
Friday, October 27, 2006 11:18 pm Man in jail after domestic violence incident where he pulled knife on baby Jeff Humphrey / News4 Reporter Last updated: Friday, October 27th, 2006 08:33:41 PM SPOKANE -- Police say a man held a two-week-old baby hostage with a knife before a Good Samaritan freed the child in a case of domestic violence that spilled out onto Spokane streets. Experts from the YWCA says its a classic case of battered woman syndrome and it wasn't until a total stranger intervened that the cycle of violence was broken. The alleged abuse that usually happened behind closed doors, became a neighborhood spectacle Thursday afternoon at the corner of Vanetta and Crestline in North Spokane. It wasn't the first time that Randy Marshall allegedly abused his 21-year-old girlfriend inside their North Spokane home. However this time the incident became so violent that police say Marshall took out his anger on the victim's 15-year-old brother when he tried to intervene. “That Randy held the pointed end of the knife to her side, that seeing Randy kicking and stomping on the child's head and ribs …” Judge Richard White read the charges in Spokane District Court Friday during Marshall’s initial appearance. With the teen on the ground Marshall then turned his attention to the two-week-old baby girl the couple shares. “That Randy threatened to kill another child by throwing her down the stairs that Randy was holding the child with one arm and a knife in the other hands as he ordered and two other females into the house,” Judge White said. That’s when Marshall’s girlfriend ran outside screaming for help. A passing motorist - a total stranger - stopped on Crestline and convinced Marshal to hand over the baby to her mother. “With our daughter I was standing in the doorway and there was the lady that called the cops and she was there, I told Kim to come get her and she wouldn't so I walked across the street to her then I went back into the house,” Marshall said in court Friday. People from the YMCA are actually members of Spokane's Domestic Violence Team. If a woman is too scared to show up in court and implicate their husband or boyfriend, their advocate will do it for them. That’s exactly what happened in court Friday, when a YMCA advocate told the court the victim had called police before but was always too intimidated to press charges. Judge White issued a no contact order against Marshall and ordered him held on a $250,000 bond. While Marshall can't return to that home on Crestline because of the no contact order, things are looking better for the alleged victim. She has the option of staying at a YWCA safe shelter. She is one of 5,000 domestic violence victims the YWCA will help this year. If you think you or somebody you know is facing a similar problem, you can call 326-CALL 24-hours-a-day for help. http://www.kxly.com/index.php?sect_rank=1&section_id=559&story_id=5853