Appeals court upholds $2 million bond for Chambers Co. woman charged with murder of 5th husband
CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Bond will remain at $2 million for a Chambers County woman accused of killing her husband in February 2023.
Sarah Hartsfield is charged with murdering her late husband, Joseph, whose cause of death was ruled as complications from the toxic effects of insulin.
Since she was arrested in February of last year, she has argued that her bond is illegal, oppressive, excessive, and beyond her financial means.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Bond cut from $4M to $2M for Chambers County woman accused of killing her 5th husband
Over the last year and a half, Hartsfield's bond has been lowered from the initial $5 million to $4.5 million and then to $4 million.
According to court records, Hartsfield told a bail bondsman over a recorded jail phone line that she could get together $200,000 for her bond. Prosecutors brought that call up to the judge in a hearing last fall and offered to play the call when Hartsfield said she did not remember it.
That day, the judge lowered her bond to $2 million, meaning she would owe $200,000 to get out.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Chambers County woman given $5M bond after she's charged in husband's murder
Hartsfield then said that being in jail has ruined her credit, two of her four cars have been repossessed, and she is behind on bills, so that amount is no longer low enough.
Chambers County records show she still owns the home she shared with her husband, which is appraised at just under $500,000.
Her attorneys asked the Court of Appeals earlier this year to issue an order to the trial court in Chambers County to lower her bond to a $150,000 cash or surety bond.
RELATED: Insulin complications ruled in Chambers Co. husband's death, but manner undetermined, records show
The court issued an opinion Thursday, saying the judge has done nothing wrong by keeping her bond at $2 million.
"We conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in reducing Hartsfield's bond to $2,000,000," the opinion reads. "We thus affirm the trial court's October 6, 2023 order."
READ MORE: What we know about Texas widow Sarah Hartsfield, under suspicion for death of her 5th husband
Hartsfield was set for trial in July, but her attorney withdrew from her case. He was elected to public office in Lavaca County. She does still have two hired defense attorneys on her team.
Hartsfield is due in court next Wednesday, but no trial date is set.
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