Porter County man stabbed by woman high on drugs
By Erin Guerra Post-Tribune correspondent October 11, 2012 12:49PM
Billie Joe Moore | Provided photo~Sun-Times Media
Updated: November 13, 2012 6:26AM
VALPARAISO -- A 64-year-old man who let a female motorist use his phone is in serious condition.
Billie Joe Moore was high on cocaine and marijuana when she allegedly stabbed 64-year-old Robert Gottschling with a knife from his own kitchen at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to charges filed Thursday.
Gottschling underwent emergency surgery Wednesday afternoon at Porter Regional Hospital to repair damage near his heart. He had been stabbed twice in the chest and had lacerations to his hands and face.
Moore, 49, of Valparaiso, is being held in the Porter County Jail on charges of aggravated battery, a Class B felony; and battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Class C felony. She also was wanted on a warrant for failure to appear on another charge.
Moore appeared before Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford Thursday afternoon in a video conference from jail where an initial plea of not guilty was entered.
Moore said she had no income other than food stamps. Bradford set a trial dste for April 8. Bail was set at $50,000.
At about 3:52 p.m. Wednesday, Porter County Police received a call about a car, driven by a seemingly intoxicated woman, crashing into a ditch along Crescent Road in the Edgewater subdivision north of Valparaiso.
Between the crash and when the first officer arrived at about 4:15 p.m., Moore reportedly found Gottschling outside nearby, getting his mail. Gottschling later told police he let the woman into his home to use the kitchen phone, but she stabbed him and they struggled when he tried to get her to leave. An area resident led police to where the man was found lying, with life-threatening injuries, near a fence line in the area of Edgewater and Flamingo. He and a second man told police, “the girl in the car crash is the one that stabbed Robert,” according to the charging paperwork filed in court.
Moore had blood on her when she was found hiding in bushes near Gottschling’s house, police said.
She was taken into custody at the scene and then treated for minor injuries at Porter Regional Hospital, where tests showed she had cocaine and marijuana in her system, according to Sgt. Larry LaFlower, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Department.
