Frances Anne Starr pleads not guilty to alleged Batavia Motor Inne stabbing of partner Norman Gilbert

A Meekatharra woman accused of stabbing her partner during a domestic dispute at the derelict Batavia Motor Inne has pleaded not guilty. Frances Anne Starr appeared in Geraldton Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with unlawful wounding over an alleged attack on her 33-year-old partner. Police allege the couple had been squatting at the abandoned hotel when an argument between them escalated, with her partner dragging Ms Starr along the ground by her hair. Ms Starr then allegedly used a shard of a broken plate to stab her partner in the head, back and chest up to five times. Her partner and the victim of the alleged crime, Norman Gilbert, was in the back of the court for the proceedings. Ms Starr’s lawyer told the court they were still in a relationship and sought to amend her bail conditions so the two could be together. Magistrate Angus Hockton asked Mr Gilbert if he wished to speak with and live with Ms Starr, to which he replied “yes”. The 28-year-old woman is currently living with her aunt and will continue to do so under the bail conditions. Ms Starr told the court she had no intention of returning to the Batavia Motor Inne. Mr Hockton said being with her aunt was a good thing and she “seems to be very stable at the moment”. However, police prosecutor Senior Constable Beau Jones said he had concerns with the bail conditions being removed given two previous breaches. “My concern is firstly, only one of the breaches had to do with Mr Gilbert, the other was her being at Batavia,” he said. “It would appear the risk of reoffending is quite high should they be together.” While Mr Hockton acknowledged these concerns, he agreed the conditions surrounding her partner should be removed as they were “setting her up to fail”. Mr Hockton reminded Ms Starr not to go to the Batavia Motor Inne. A trial allocation date has been set for September 5.