Judge denies reduced bond for woman, 55, accused in ‘15 slaying
TEXARKANA, Texas — A woman charged with murder in Bowie County was denied a bond reduction Monday at a pretrial hearing.
Shirley
Ann Falkowski,
55, is accused in the August 2015 death of James Earl Johnson. Her case was set for jury selection in early-February but was delayed after Falkowski came down with the flu. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a months-long suspension of trials in the state of Texas, Falkowksi’s case is on hold.
At a pretrial hearing Monday, Falkowski’s lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Sylvia Delgado, asked 5th District Judge Bill Miller to consider reducing her bond from $500,000 to an amount she might be able to reach. Falkowski told the court she has health issues including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and high blood pressure.
Assistant District Attorney
Katie Carter opposed a reduction citing the nature of the pending charge. Miller sided with the prosecution, and mentioning the seriousness of the charge and concern that Falkowski might present a flight risk.
The Texas Supreme Court has suspended jury trials until at least Aug. 1 with some exceptions. Miller said he hopes to be able to set Falkowski’s case for jury selection at her next pretrial hearing Aug. 7.
Falkowski has been in jail since February 2019. Falkowski allegedly confessed, during an interview in February 2019 with Texas Rangers, that she stabbed James Earl Johnson in his DeKalb, Texas, apartment in August 2015, according to a probable cause affidavit. Members of the DeKalb Police Department requested assistance in the investigation from the Texas Rangers after Johnsons’s body was discovered Aug. 5, 2015.
Witnesses reported that Falkowski may have been the last person to see Johnson alive.
Investigators acquired video surveillance footage that allegedly showed Falkowski attempted to use Johnson’s debit card to withdraw money from a DeKalb bank at 12:33 a.m. and 12:35 a.m. on Aug. 5, 2015, while driving a white Pontiac sedan.
Texas Rangers tracked down the car and learned from the owner that he had loaned it to Falkowski to move Aug. 4, 2015.
A sample of blood collected from the car’s interior allegedly was a match for Johnson’s DNA.
When interviewed by law enforcement in August 2015, Falkowski allegedly claimed that Johnson had given her the debit card to get cash for cigarettes, but she was unable to make the purchase because the personal identification number she had for the card did not work. Falkowski was interviewed again of Feb. 12, 2019. During that interview, she allegedly confessed to stabbing Johnson with a knife.
According to the affidavit, the circumstances of Johnson’s death are similar to a murder for which Falkowski served time in a Missouri prison. Court records in St. Louis show she pleaded guilty Sept. 29, 1998, to second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Falkowski received a 12-year term for murder and a three year term for armed criminal action and the two sentences were run concurrently.
Falkowski is facing five to 99 years or life if convicted of murder in Texas.