By Julie Rae Rickard
CLEARFIELD – It took a jury about 20 minutes on Friday to find a man accused of attempted homicide guilty but mentally ill for a stabbing that occurred in Hyde in Aug. 2020.
Robert Jeffery Bailor, 49, who is homeless, was also found guilty but mentally ill of two counts of aggravated assault, simple assault and terroristic threats after a two-day trial before President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman.
In an interview after the verdict was read, District Attorney Ryan Sayers stated that Bailor who will be sentenced within 60 days, could serve approximately 20 to 40 years in state prison.
Because of the nature of the verdicts, he will first be sent to a state facility for treatment before being placed in the general population at one of the state prison, he explained.
Another verdict option the jury considered was not guilty by reason of insanity which would require he receive treatment, but the difference being he would be released once it was determined that he could safely reenter society, according to a previous article.
Sayers thanked all those involved in the case for their hard work saying it was a “team effort” that achieved their ultimate goal.
The charges stem from an incident on Aug. 24, 2020 when the victim who had just pulled into his driveway, got out of his car and Bailor “came running at him” with a knife saying that “don’t you ever f*** with my family”. He then stabbed him in the neck and abdomen, according to the affidavit.
Thursday’s testimony included information that Bailor had actually approached the victim previously at a convenience store warning he was going to get him and at his home. The victim did not know who this man was, at that time.
A neighbor also saw Bailor at the victim’s home where he wrote on the trailer.
Testimony on Friday, came from defense expert, Zoe Selhi, a former commonwealth forensic psychologist who now works in Ontario, Canada who interacted via Zoom.
She stated that she examined Bailor in March 2022 to determine his competency to stand trial and if he was eligible for an insanity defense. For her report, she also reviewed his records and other evaluations including one from Torrence State Hospital.
She testified that Bailor displayed active signs of schizophrenia with impaired decision making.
He continues to exhibit symptoms including delusions which are consistent with all of his encounters, she stated. Her conclusion was that he should be considered insane and eligible for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
In his closing arguments, defense attorney Joshua Maines referred to this as an “unique case”.
First the jury had to determine whether Bailor was guilty or not, then if he was mentally ill or insane.
He pointed to what he called “inconsistencies” in the case which when put together were “significant”.
First, the victim did not know for sure who the man was who accosted him at a convenience store, and later stabbed him. It was someone else who identified the man as Bailor.
A witness saw a man run across the street after the stabbing, but didn’t see his face. He said he drove slowly past in a van while the victim said the man sped away.
To add more doubt, Maines reminded the jury that the DNA evidence found on the knife said to be the weapon used, matched a mixture of the victim’s DNA, but there was none of Bailor’s DNA on the knife.
(The knife was found in Bailor’s van.)
When Bailor’s bloody clothing was tested, there was none of the victim’s DNA present. All of the blood was from Bailor who had a cut on his hand.
Maines asked the jury to find him not guilty.
Sayers in his closing arguments recounted the victim’s testimony that he had just gotten home from a doctor’s appointment, and gotten out of his car when he saw Bailor running at him.
“Leave my f****** family alone!” Bailor stated as he stabbed him.
The victim was able to positively identify Bailor in the courtroom as the one who assaulted him, Sayers said.
The victim who was 76 at the time, drove himself to Penn Highlands Clearfield and was then flown to UPMC Altoona for further treatment. He had a total of seven wounds to his neck and abdomen which required surgery.
The wounds were “life threatening” and the victim has permanent scarring from the incident, Sayers said.
After the trial Sayers mentioned that the victim has had trouble sleeping and trauma because of the attack and added that he “hopefully now he will be able to rest” since he was having concerns that Bailor would be coming back for him.
Sayers also explained that Bailor, for some reason, thought that the victim had molested and hypnotized all the children when they lived in the same neighborhood while they were kids.
“He became fixated with him.”
You can read a recap of Thursday’s testimony here.