CORBIN — By John L. Ross

Staff Writer

A man facing attempted murder charges after allegedly stabbing his girlfriend at least 16 times appeared in Whitley County District Court Monday.

Anthony Edward Potter-Spicer, 30, of Williamsburg, appeared with his attorney, Public Defender Jim Wren, for his preliminary hearing.

Judge Fred White listened while Assistant Whitley County Attorney Gary Brittain questioned the first witness in the case, Detective Bobby Freeman with the Williamsburg Police Department.

Brittain asked about the circumstances leading to Potter-Spicer’s arrest.

“There was an apparently domestic altercation,” Freeman said, adding a neighbor, Betty Bundy, contacted police.

Freeman explained that Bundy knew Potter-Spicer, and that he was “on top of a female,” whom Bundy said she didn’t know.

That female victim was Ashley Warren, who did not appear in court Monday.

Freeman testified he learned from Warren that “her and Anthony got into an argument, (and he) knocked her down and started stabbing her.”

He explained that the stabbing wounds took a circular pattern around Warren’s body. “(We) estimated that she was stabbed at least 16 times plus had wounds to her hands,” Freeman said, adding she was stabbed with a pocketknife, which police never recovered.

Warren was flown to the University of Kentucky Medical Center, but has since been released, according to Freeman.

The detective further testified that Warren received stab wounds to “her chest, her back, butt, her throat and hands,” Freeman said.

Concerning the resisting arrest charge Potter-Spicer faces, Freeman said that the defendant was tracked to an area near the Cumberland River. However, Potter-Spicer was actually arrested at the home where the attack happened — on Sky View Drive.

“He was hiding in the basement of the house,” Freeman testified. “The dog found him under the bed and bit him.”

Then Wren began questioning for the defense, adding that coincidentally, he resides on that street. However, since at no time did anyone contact the Wren residence during the night of the attack, there was no chance Wren would be a witness in this case.

Freeman testified that Potter-Spicer resided with the property owner of the home at 112 Skyview Drive, Vincent Lawson, who also owns the Bundy residence.

However, Warren did not reside in any home on that street, and Freeman was questioned as to why she was there.

Freeman said the home Warren lived in had caught fire near Emlyn, but it was not known when that happened.

The two had gotten into an argument, and she was there to take him to his residence at Skyview Drive, according to Freeman.

He added that Bundy, who contacted law enforcement about this attack, had heard “hollering and crying outside, and saw Anthony on top of her.”

She was on the doorstep of her home, which was approximately 10-15 feet away from the victim when she contacted authorities, Freeman testified.

Potter-Spicer “allegedly ran away toward the Cumberland River,” Freeman said. “A canine tracked (him) from the scene to the river….and then back to Skyview Drive.”

Freeman testified that while en route to the jail, Potter-Spicer “was crying and said he was sorry.”

He added that Potter-Spicer was taken to the hospital to treat the bites from the canine.

Wren attempted to ask a couple of questions concerning a media agency’s report on the matter, but Brittain objected on the grounds it was “double hearsay.”

Potter-Spicer’s case was then bound over to the grand jury, which meets later this month.

He remains jailed at the Whitley County Detention Center under a $500,000 cash bond.

According to Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird, Warren had been trying to end her relationship with Potter-Spicer “for several weeks.”

“The night of the incident, he accused her of having an affair,” Bird said. “(He) pulled the knife, stating, ‘If he couldn’t have her, no one else would either.’”

Warren was placed in intensive care, but was upgraded to fair condition before her release. Williamsburg police officers traveled to the hospital to interview Warren.

Potter-Spicer also had a warrant from Campbell County for misdemeanor charges, according to Bird.