Judge denies accused killer request for bond

Winter Park woman charged with murder in husband’s ’19 death

A judge denied a request Wednesday from a Winter Park woman accused of fatally stabbing her husband to post bond and be released from jail over fears of contracting the novel coronavirus.

During a hearing at the Orange County Courthouse, Circuit

Judge Tanya Davis Wilson rejected setting bail at $25,000 or a “reasonable” amount for 46-year-old Danielle Redlick, who is charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the 2019 killing of 65-year-old Michael Redlick.

Redlick appeared from the Orange County Jail virtually, while those attending in the courtroom wore masks. Trials across Florida have been delayed during the pandemic but some hearings deemed necessary have taken place.

Redlick’s attorneys argued her health risk is heightened because of her medical conditions, heart murmurs and circumstances at the jail. As of Monday, 12 jail staff members had tested positive for COVID-19, though no inmates, said jail spokeswoman Tracy Zampaglione.

“At jails, additional inmates, guards, contractors and employees are constantly interacting with the outside world and likely bringing the virus inside the jail,” Assistant Public Defender Catherine Conlon wrote in an April 23 motion. “[Redlick] is stuck in jail and awaits the coronavirus to spread wildly behind bars.”

Orange-Osceola Public Defender Robert Wesley argued Wednesday that Redlick was not a flight risk and would stay in Sanford with Christi McCullars, an attorney representing her in guardianship proceedings involving her two minor children who previously offered to house her client. Redlick’s defense attorneys have said she was acting in self-defense after her husband tried to strangle her during the argument.