Washougal man charged with attempted murder in stabbing that left man seriously injured

A Washougal man has been charged with first-degree attempted murder for a Dec. 12 stabbing that left another Washougal man seriously injured. 

Washougal police said Cody Slot, 40, of Washougal, was arrested Dec. 19, on charges of assault and attempted murder, in connection with the Dec. 12, 2023, stabbing of 27-year-old Washougal resident Justin Samuel.

Washougal police officers responded to a call at a residence on the 2900 block of Main Street in Washougal at 1:52 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, and, according to court documents, discovered Samuel “lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from stab wounds, mainly in the side and back.” 

Emergency responders transported Samuel to a local hospital, where he continued to lose “a significant amount of blood.”

Clark County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Toby Krauel told The Post-Record’s sister paper, The Columbian, that Samuel suffered a punctured kidney, spleen and lung, as well as a facial laceration, has undergone four surgeries, and still has a difficult time speaking.

“It’s a miracle that he survived being stabbed this many times,” Krauel told The Columbian.

According to court documents, police interviewed a woman who lived in the home where the stabbing allegedly took place. 

Haven Camden, 27, told officers that she met Slot several months ago when they were living in Nevada, and entered into a relationship with him. According to the police report, Camden said Slot had given her a ring and the couple agreed “that if the relationship did not work out, they would go their separate ways.”

“When Hamden decided she did not want to have a relationship with Slot, she agreed to return the ring and put it into her mailbox for Slot to pick up,” according to the police report. 

Camden told officers that she had gone inside the house to check on her daughter, and when she came back outside, she saw Slot and Samuel, who was “staggering backward.”

Police noted in their report that “Hamden yelled for Slot to get off Samuel, and Slot left the scene in a black truck. Hamden did not witness the actual stabbing, but Slot was seen with Samuel directly after the incident occurred.”

Police officers took a baseball cap that Camden said Slot was wearing, as well as a ring, and sent the items to the Washington State Patrol crime lab for analysis, according to the report.

According to the police report, on Dec. 13, Washougal police detectives spoke to Samuel, who confirmed he and Hamden had contacted Slot about returning the ring, and identified the Chevy Colorado truck that Slot had been driving when he pulled up and left the scene of the incident.

“Samuel advised that he never saw his attacker, but knew it was Slot because he heard Camden yelling for Slot to get off him and saw Slot’s truck as it was leaving,” according to the police report. 

Washougal police officer Sugey Lopez arrested Slot Dec. 19, at Slot’s residence on Lookout Ridge Drive in Washougal.

Slot appeared in Clark County Superior Court Dec. 20, 2023, on charges of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault. Slot was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, Jan. 3.