A North Carolina woman whose 13-year-old stepson died after being tied to a tree for two nights pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and child abuse charges.
An Edgecombe County Superior Court judge set a $200,000 bail for Sandra McMillan, whose husband faces the same charges in his son's death last June. If she posts bail, the woman must live with her cousin in Cary, wear a monitoring device at her own expense and travel only to her attorney's office in Wilson.
She also would be barred from seeing her 8-year-old daughter, who is living with family in Florida, and allowed to speak with her only through monitored phone calls.
Her lawyer, Thomas Sallenger, said his client isn't a flight risk and should be released.
"She'll be here for anything the court needs. We need her out of jail so she can help prepare for her trial defense," he said during the court hearing.
Her trial is scheduled for July 6.
McMillan and her husband, Brice, are accused of tying up Tyler McMillan overnight for being disobedient on June 10. Tyler also was tied up the next night, and Sandra McMillan found him unresponsive the following afternoon.
An autopsy report said he likely died from dehydration, heat stroke or both. His body temperature was 105.6 degrees when he arrived at the hospital.
The teen had several insect bites on his arms and legs, and bruises on his legs and buttocks that may have been caused by a rod-like instrument, according to the report. He also had marks on his wrists and legs consistent with plastic ties.
McMillan and her husband were indicted last month. Brice McMillan waived arraignment and didn't appear at Wednesday's hearing. He has pleaded not guilty to the same charges, and his trial date wasn't immediately available.
At Wednesday's hearing, Sallenger said the couple met in 2006 through eHarmony, an online match-making service. He said both had lost spouces; Sandra McMillon's husband was killed in a car accident six years after they were married, and Brice's wife died of cancer. Both had children and worked in the construction industry. She moved to North Carolina to be with Brice in 2007.
In other developments, Judge Milton Fitch also barred Sandra McMillan from contacting her husband's son, Ryan, who lives in North Carolina, and from visiting her and her husband's home in Macclesfield, where Tyler died.
Prosecutors declined comment. Sallenger also declined to comment after the hearing, saying he was under a gag order.