The grandmother of the 2-year-old girl who was nearly beaten to death Tuesday in Salmon Creek said the child’s condition is improving.
Deborah Holder, mother of the man accused of beating the girl, said she has received updates from the child’s mother indicating that she is doing better.
“She’s been so distraught,” Deborah Holder said of the girl’s mother. “I have not been able to get specifics.”
Kyle Stephen Brian Holder, 32, faces attempted first-degree murder after he allegedly threw daughter Trinity Compani-Holder out of an open window and then repeatedly threw her to the ground, according to court documents.
Clark County sheriff’s deputies responded to the Sunnyside Motel, a residential motel at 12200 N.E. Highway 99, just before 9 p.m. Tuesday for a reported disturbance with a baseball bat. They learned, however, that it was a good Samaritan who intervened in the attack, using a bat to strike Holder, the sheriff’s office said.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Clark County Superior Court, Trinity and her mother, Barbara Keller, were sleeping in their room when Holder walked in, grabbed Trinity, carried her to the open window and threw her out onto a concrete walkway. Holder then walked outside, picked up Trinity and repeatedly threw her to the ground, the affidavit said.
A couple in a neighboring room heard screaming and came outside. Donald Gilbert said he saw Holder assaulting the child and confronted him, at which point Holder stopped attacking his daughter, according to court records.
Responding deputies described Holder as being out of control and used a Taser on him to take him into custody, the sheriff’s office said. Trinity was severely injured and taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland.
Holder told law enforcement officers that he didn’t want to kill the girl, but he had to, the affidavit states.
“I had to hold my daughter and crush her head so she could go up to the sky,” he allegedly told officers.
Holder was taken to a local hospital with injuries and later was booked into the Clark County Jail. No charges are expected to be brought against the resident who intervened in the attack, the sheriff’s office said.
Holder is being held in jail in lieu of $1 million bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned July 8.
Holder moved to Clark County from Georgia about three weeks ago, according to court documents, and he told officials that he worked at Wal-Mart and delivered newspapers for The Columbian. Keller works as a contracted carrier for The Columbian.
Holder has a conviction from 2000 for driving under the influence and another from 2012 for family violence, both in Georgia. He received probation and fines in both incidents, as well as jail time for the family violence conviction, according court records.
Reporter Jessica Prokop contributed to this story.
