Accused Slasher’s Bond Won’t Be Reduced

A Boise psychiatrist says Rae Ann Leach could not distinguish reality from hallucination the day she was accused of slashing the throat of her neighbor’s 20-monthold baby.

Up to three days before the July 10 slashing, Leach had stopped taking medication for a mental disorder, said psychiatrist William Gibson. Mary Hickerson survived the attack.

Leach, 51, appeared in court Friday, seeking to have her $500,000 bond reduced to $50,000. Fourth District Judge Daniel Eismann denied the request.

Gibson helped diagnose Leach after she was charged with aggravated battery.

As long as she takes her medication, “she is not a danger to herself or others,” Gibson said, adding that without the prescription, she might hear voices and experience hallucinations.

The child’s mother, Annie Hickerson, pleaded with Eismann not to reduce the bond.

“The vicious slashing and stabbing of our baby Mary is the absolute most painful experience of our lives,” Hickerson said.

The Hickersons live two houses away from David and Rae Ann Leach.

“If Rae Ann is let out on bail, my family will be stripped of all freedom. … Please keep her under lock and key, where society will be safe from Rae Ann and Rae Ann will be safe from herself,” Hickerson said.

Court testimony revealed Leach has been under psychiatric care for nearly 30 years and suffered two psychotic episodes in the 1980s. Leach reportedly said voices in her head once told her to kill herself.

Eismann ordered that if her bond is paid, a hearing is needed to iron out the conditions of her release.

“She needs to continue treatment,” Eismann said. “If she regresses, she wouldn’t be competent to stand trial.”

Her trial is set for Jan. 8.