Date: 09-19-2018

Teen pleads not guilty to attempted murder of his grandmother

By Matt Lasley
Grayson County News-Gazette

Millwood resident Douglas R. Barton, 18, has pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted murder and tampering with physical evidence in relation to allegations that he slit his grandmother’s throat and stabbed her in the back with a knife.

Barton was arraigned on the two charges last Thursday in Grayson County District Court, at which time he entered his plea, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. in District Court.

Barton was arrested on Friday, Sept. 7, at which point, according to his arrest warrant, he

The charges stem from a Grayson County Central Dispatch call, received at 3:40 a.m. on Sept. 7, in which a man stated that his grandmother was bleeding from the chest and back and appeared to have been stabbed, according to Grayson County Sheriff Norman Chaffins.

The Grayson County Sheriff’s Office and Leitchfield Police Department arrived at the residence near the 200 block of Pleasant View Road in Millwood and discovered an older female lying in the driveway.

Grayson County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Fred Norder’s investigation revealed that Barton, the victim’s paternal grandson, had made the 911 call and was also allegedly responsible for her injuries.

According to Barton’s arrest warrant, he had an argument with his grandmother in the early morning hours on Sept. 7, and, during the course of the argument, he “came up behind his grandmother and pulled her head backwards and reached around, slashing her throat with a knife, causing a deep wound to her throat.”

The warrant goes on to state that, after the victim fell on the driveway, Barton stabbed her multiple times in the back.

Chaffins said Barton appeared to have also stabbed the victim in the trachea, and, after the stabbing, left her lying outside her residence and called 911 to report an injured person was in the driveway.

The woman suffered multiple injuries that caused her to lose a large amount of blood, as well as sustain a collapsed lung and damaged trachea, according to police.

She was transported by Grayson County EMS to Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center and later to University of Louisville Hospital and is expected to recover from her injuries.

Barton remains lodged in the Grayson County Detention Center.