Arrest made in slaying of Vancouver woman

A man was arrested on suspicion of murder Friday night in the May slaying of a disabled woman in her Vancouver apartment, according to the Vancouver Police Department.

David James Barker, 44, was arrested in Portland by the U.S. Marshals Violent Offender Task Force in connection with the death of 66-year-old Sharon Allison, according to a VPD bulletin.

Detectives with the Vancouver Police Department Major Crimes Unit obtained an arrest warrant last week for Barker, the bulletin said.

Allison, 66, was last seen alive on the morning of May 8 talking to an unidentified man in the hallway of her Columbia House apartment building. The next day, police found her body in a large blue recycling bin inside her apartment.

In 1984, Allison had been the victim of an assault that left her with head trauma. Years later, she suffered an aneurysm and stroke that surgeons said was a delayed effect of the injury, said Allison’s sister, Betty Minor.

After the aneurysm, Allison underwent surgery and nearly died several times. She was left disabled on the left half of her body. Walking was difficult and she had severely reduced mental capacity, her family said.

Barker has been booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center, the bulletin said.