CASPER — A 17-year-old Casper girl charged with using a machete-like knife to stab another 17-year-old on Halloween pleaded not guilty in Natrona County District Court on Friday.
Gabriella Aultman walked into the courtroom with her parents and stood beside attorney Ryan Semerad before Judge Joshua Eames to hear the charge against her — aggravated assault and battery.
Her victim, Willow Wagner, and family members sat in the courtroom.
Aultman, in a black sweater and slacks, told the judge that she was a senior in high school and is now on medication. She said she understood her rights.
Judge Eames asked her how she would plead to the charge.
“Not guilty, your honor,” she said.
During a November preliminary hearing, Casper Police Department Detective Tiffany Elhart testified Aultman told investigators after the incident that she became “angry and defensive” after her vehicle was kicked.
She also claimed Wagner “walked into the blade” and that Aultman “moved her right hand forward slightly,” which caused the blade to go into the victim.
Semerad then told the judge that he plans to file a motion to send the case to juvenile court.
Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson asked for the defense to file a motion for a waiver of speedy trial. The judge said he will wait for Semerad’s motion on juvenile court, which would be assigned to another Natrona County District Court judge for a decision.
Willow Wagner says she tries to “think of the positives” following a stabbing incident that nearly cost her her life. (Courtesy Willow Wagner) 
Raelee Blaylock, left, says she knows “everyone” on the teen victims of violence in Casper year. “There has to be a change,” she says. Right, Willow Wagner says she tries to “think of the positives” following a stabbing incident that nearly cost her her life. Blaylock acted fast to help Wagner after she was stabbed Halloween night. (Courtesy Photo)
What Happened
Aultman’s charge stems from an incident at the National Trails Interpretive Center parking lot in Casper on Halloween evening where court records describe a gathering of about 20 vehicles and people in their teens and early 20s hanging out.
Aultman had gone there with a friend in the family’s red Dodge Durango and had the friend be the designated driver because she planned to drink.
When she and her friend had agreed to give another participant a ride home about 9:30 pm., there were people behind the vehicle as they tried to back out, according to a police affidavit.
Court records state that the victim, Wagner, kicked the vehicle and Aultman grabbed a machete-style knife and got out of the truck.
Wagner told Cowboy State Daily in early November that she kicked the truck to let them know there were people behind it and initially thought the knife was fake.
“Bella jumped out with the machete. I put my hands up immediately,” Wagner said. “I was like, ‘Chill, bro, chill.’ There's like, a video of it, because this girl felt that there was gonna be a fight.
“And then she, like, she stabbed me. I grabbed the machete, pulled it out of me. This happened really fast. And, like, she kind of like started yanking it, but my hand was still, like, stuck in the machete.”
Wagner required surgeries to her abdomen and hand as a result of the stabbing.
The police affidavit states that Aultman’s designated driver told them that when Aultman came back into the vehicle she yelled “go, go, go” and started giving her directions, mumbling and crying, saying she was “sorry she did that.”
Aultman was arrested shortly after the incident.
Aultman’s initial $100,000 cash or surety bond had been reduced to a $75,000 appearance bond in Casper Circuit Court. Judge Eames Friday continued that bond Friday.
The aggravated assault and battery charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The stabbing represented one of several incidents involving weapons and teens in Casper in 2024.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
