Staff report

A Silsbee woman has been re-indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury, accused in connection with the 2016 knife attack on her estranged husband.

Kelly Sue Daws, 46, was indicted Wednesday for second-degree criminal conspiracy and second-degree criminal solicitation. Previously, she had been accused of first-degree criminal conspiracy and first-degree solicitation in a case in which her boyfriend attacked her husband in Port Arthur with a knife.

On Wednesday, the boyfriend, Joal Morgan Riley, 47, was in the custody of Jefferson County Corrections with bond set at $400,000. Prosecutor Jimmy D. Hamm said Riley entered a guilty plea Monday to a charge of first-degree aggravated assault.

A sentencing date for Riley had not been set Thursday but would likely be in May.

The case originated Dec. 22, 2016 when Daws’ estranged husband answered a knock on the door at Willow Lakes Apartments, 2555 95^th St., Port Arthur. An assailant later identified as Riley, then of Woodville, attacked the husband, an off-duty police officer, with what was described as a large hunting knife.

The husband was cut several times on his arms but escaped from his assailant. An affidavit said at the time the suspect told the victim he would have to kill him because he had seen his assailant’s face during the attack.

The husband was treated for his injuries at St. Elizabeth’s in Beaumont and remained there for one night.

The affidavit said the wife had said she was under stress because of her impending divorce and had talked with Riley about getting rid of her husband.

Port Arthur Police Department, Jefferson County District Attorney’s office and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office were all involved in the investigation.