The father facing attempted murder in the June beating of his 2-year-old daughter at a Salmon Creek motel has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Kyle Stephen Brian Holder entered the plea Tuesday in Clark County Superior Court following monthslong treatment to try to restore his competency.
He was ordered in July to undergo the restoration process after a court-ordered mental health evaluation found he could understand court proceedings but was unable to aid in his defense. Competency in the court system only addresses whether a defendant is able to assist in his defense.
His trial is scheduled to begin May 1.
Holder, 33, will undergo additional mental health evaluations before then.
He is charged with attempted first-degree domestic violence murder in connection with the attack on his daughter, Trinity Compani-Holder.
Trinity and her mother, Barbara Keller, were sleeping in their room June 28 at the Sunnyside Motel, a residential motel at 12200 N.E. Highway 99, when Kyle Holder walked in, grabbed the girl and threw her out an open window onto a concrete walkway, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Holder walked outside and continued to assault the girl, the affidavit states.
A man in a neighboring room stopped the attack before authorities arrived by hitting Holder with a baseball bat.
Holder reportedly said he didn’t want to kill the girl but believed he had to do so. “I had to hold my daughter and crush her head so she could go up to the sky,” he allegedly told law enforcement officers.
In July, Trinity’s family said she was awake but still in critical condition at a Portland hospital. Efforts to reach them Tuesday for an update on her condition were unsuccessful.
According to an update posted about a month ago on the girl’s online donations page, she and her mother are trying to raise money for a home. Another update posted around the same time shows a photo of Trinity with her face healed, and she is no longer in a hospital bed hooked up to machines. The caption says, “She’s great.”
Three months ago, family posted that Trinity is improving but that they are still raising money for when she is released from the hospital to help pay for extra needs “now that she can’t do everything like normal.”
Those interested in donating can do so at www.gofundme.com/2dmpnuf8.
