A Vancouver woman accused of killing her 75-year-old mother at their Orchards area home told detectives that her mother physically abused her throughout her life, court records say.
Asenka Miller Wilber, 50, appeared Monday morning in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree domestic violence murder. Court documents identify the victim as Carole Hardin.
Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Smith, with the Elder Justice Center, requested that Wilber’s bail be set at $750,000, citing concerns for the public’s safety, Wilber’s limited criminal history and a supposed history of abuse between the mother and daughter.
Judge Gregory Gonzales set Wilber’s bail at $500,000.
Wilber was wheeled into the courtroom in a restraint chair. She remained sitting as attorneys addressed the allegations. During the brief hearing, Wilber requested lethal injection.
“The court does not want me alive, and neither do I,” she told the judge.
Wilber had been living with Hardin, and she reported on Thursday that her mother died, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to their home, 14308 N.E. 80th St., to investigate the death, and found the mother with obvious injuries to her face and head, and another possible injury to her wrist, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sunday arrest
The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office examined the woman’s body and found additional injuries, the sheriff’s office said. After a search of the home and interviews with Wilber and other family members, deputies arrested Wilber on Sunday.
In an interview with a Clark County Major Crimes Unit detective, Wilber said her mother was physically abusive throughout her life, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case.
Early last week, the mother and daughter were reportedly in a physical fight. Wilber said the fight began in the living room and ended in Hardin’s bedroom, where Wilber punched her mother in the head until she stopped moving, according to the affidavit.
Wilber checked Hardin’s pulse, she said, and confirmed she was dead.
“Instead of seeking medical aid or calling 911, (Wilber) said she was confused and began digging a grave in the backyard for her mother,” the affidavit says.
Wilber continued digging the grave for an entire day until she became too tired, she said. The affidavit does not indicate how long it took from the time Wilber stopped digging to when she called deputies; it states she went to a neighbor’s house Thursday night to make the call, according to the affidavit.
Smith said Monday that Hardin filed a restraining order against Wilber in May, and the protection stayed in place for a short time, but it was dropped in June when neither woman showed up for a required court hearing.
Correction: The above article incorrectly reported that the victim had filed a restraining order against her daughter in 2017. The order was filed in May of this year.
