A 40-year-old Port Neches man is behind bars after allegedly stabbing both of his parents inside their family home, leaving his 72-year-old father hospitalized with more than 10 stab wounds. Hunter Wayne Barber was arrested at the scene without incident following the attack, which police say happened with no known argument, provocation or motive.
According to panews.com, Barber allegedly committed the stabbings at a home in the 1000 block of Neches Drive in Port Neches on Tuesday. Police were called to the house at 1:02 p.m. for a disturbance involving two people stabbed with a knife, the outlet reported. Both victims had retreated to a room for safety before officers were summoned, and Barber was arrested immediately once police arrived.
Father Suffered More Than 10 Stab Wounds
The outlet reported that Barber's father was stabbed more than 10 times while his mother was stabbed several times. A separate account from Fox 4 Beaumont specified that Barber's 68-year-old mother has since been released from the hospital, while his 72-year-old father remained hospitalized with at least ten stab wounds. Both victims were taken to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont, per the original reporting from The Examiner, which identified Port Neches Chief of Police Cheri Griffith as the official attributing the attack to Barber.
Exact charging language differs slightly between outlets covering the case. Fox 4 Beaumont described the charges as two counts of first-degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, while the same report noted Barber could face up to life in prison if convicted. The Port Arthur News, meanwhile, described the charges as two counts of aggravated assault involving a family or household member and a weapon causing serious bodily injury.
Bond Set at $1 Million Total
A magistrate set bail at $500,000 on each count, for a total of $1 million, the station's report states. No argument, provocation or motive had been identified at the time of publication, and police told KFDM that the investigation remains ongoing.
The Port Neches Police Department has not released additional details beyond what officials have shared with local outlets. The department maintains an active presence on Facebook, where it regularly engages with residents on local safety matters, though no case-specific update had been posted there as of this writing.
