CORONADO : Bail Will Stand in Grisly Killing
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A judge refused to lower bail Tuesday for a woman accused of suffocating and dismembering her elderly companion, after investigators said they have found no evidence to support her contention that the victim treated her “like a dog.”
Mary Louise Asbury, 59, is accused of murdering and dismembering 79-year-old Lillian B. Shepherd, whose torso was discovered in Coronado on April 30.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Lori Koster reported last week that Asbury told investigators that mistreatment drove her to kill Shepherd. But Koster told Municipal Judge Harvey Hiber on Tuesday that “this attack on Miss Shepherd appears to be completely unprovoked.”
Koster would not offer a motive for the slaying, but she did rule out Asbury’s explanation.
“We have not been able to corroborate her statements,” Koster said.
Hiber refused to lower Asbury’s $1-million bail. A preliminary hearing in the case has been rescheduled for July 1.
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