Kathryn Camille Murray's bond was reduced from $250,000 to $50,000, despite prosecutors' concerns. She had closed her bank account and then bought, and subsequently cancelled, a plane ticket to Mexico.
Murray, 28, wearing handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit, spoke in a strong, commanding voice when she told the judge, "I absolutely will be here on time. ... I want to be here to show I'm not a flight risk."
Prosecutors did say Murray told a co-worker she was going to see her brother in Mexico, who had been ill.
Murray, a former language arts teacher at Memorial Middle School, is accused of having sex with her 15-year-old student. Prosecutors say the teen's younger brother told investigators Murray came by the victim's house on February 11. The younger brother says he saw a bra on his brother's floor and a woman hiding beneath the covers in the teen's bed.
Prosecutors say that's when the victim said, "Ms. Murray, say hi."
The person under the covers reportedly said, "Hola."
The state originally set Murray's bond at $250,000 because prosecutors believed she was a flight risk.
"That was the information also from the school district, that she had closed her bank account that her direct deposit paychecks were going into, so her last paycheck was unable to be deposited to her bank account," prosecutor Denise Onken explained.
Prosecutors say Murray was recently separated from her husband.
She is required to wear a GPS monitor, surrender her passport, and stay away from the victim, his family and any other child under 17 years old. The judge did allow her to stay with her sister and be in the presence of her younger niece and nephews.
Murray is free after posting $50,000 bond on Friday.
