A Silverton man who was arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife early Friday morning posted bail Monday after appearing in La Plata County court.
Judge Martha Minot set bail at $20,000 for Michael Allen McFarland, who is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife, Jessica McFarland, 32.
When law enforcement arrested McFarland on Friday, bail was initially fixed at $50,000.
Minot reduced the bond because 6th Judicial District Attorney Todd Risberg said McFarland, 31, who has deep roots in Silverton, is not a flight risk, meaning he is unlikely to flee the area while awaiting trial.
Risberg noted that McFarland has a criminal history of domestic violence, though he did not elaborate on the specifics.
Minot set several additional conditions for McFarland’s release, including that he live with his mother in Rifle, a small town in northwestern Colorado.
She also issued restraining orders that prevent McFarland from contacting his and Jessica McFarland’s two small children – in person, electronically, by phone or letter – beyond one meeting under the supervision of child services.
When Minot asked McFarland if he understood this condition, he nodded and seemed to fight emotion.
During release, McFarland will be barred from consuming alcohol or drugs.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the case Monday, saying it is being investigated by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
According to an arrest affidavit submitted to the court by the CBI, Michael McFarland went to his neighbor’s house at 1:30 a.m. Friday and asked them to call 911. The neighbors, LaDonna and Amos “Dee” Jaramillo, said they were awakened by McFarland pounding on their front door. McFarland said he needed help for his wife, Jessica. The affidavit says the couple “observed a very emotional and distraught Michael McFarland ... He had blood on the palms of his hands and his socks. Michael told LaDonna that Jessica threw a bottle at him, and he in turn threw a bottle back at her and hit her in the throat. He did not say what type of bottle it was or whether it caused any injury.”
According to the affidavit, McFarland repeated these statements when he and the Jaramillos went next door to check on Jessica. There, “Mr. Jaramillo saw what appeared to be a jagged laceration near the lower neck/collarbone area of Ms. McFarland.”
San Juan County Undersheriff Bruce Conrad responded at 1:35 a.m. to a report of a woman “with a cut to her neck.”
According to the affidavit, Conrad said Michael McFarland was “in and out of several rooms in the house and was very emotional and ‘kind of out of control.’” Conrad observed “major amounts of blood” in the kitchen and bedroom. He observed different types of broken glass on the floor in the kitchen.
When Conrad entered the master bedroom, he noticed jagged lacerations on Jessica’s neck and clavicle area, and three separate wounds to her neck and chest area. “He said it was difficult to tell how many wounds were actually on her body because of the amount of blood present,” the affidavit says.
Conrad said the largest cut “did not seem consistent with a knife wound.”
Medics and Conrad performed CPR on Jessica. After CPR stopped, the affidavit states, Michael McFarland “was still distraught and failing to follow orders, so Undersheriff Conrad placed him in handcuffs.
“At this time, Undersheriff Conrad felt Ms. McFarland’s death was suspicious and contacted CBI for investigative assistance. While they were inside the house attempting to help Ms. McFarland, Undersheriff Conrad overheard Mr. McFarland saying ‘I didn’t do anything’ and ‘I wasn’t even in the same room.’ Mr. McFarland also said, ‘I don’t know why she would do this,’ and ‘I don’t know what happened,’” according to the affidavit.
Inside the patrol vehicle, Conrad “smelled a strong odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage on McFarland’s breath.”
In an interview, McFarland told CBI Agent Rosa Perez and Undersheriff Conrad that he didn’t know how his wife had become injured, according to the arrest affidavit. He said they started arguing after putting the kids to bed; she threw “something” at him. As McFarland was leaving the house, according to the affidavit, he saw a lot of blood but did not know how it happened. “Ms. McFarland told him to call an ambulance, so he ran to his neighbor’s house and had them call 911.”
He said he and Jessica McFarland had been drinking earlier in the evening at a friend’s house, and later at a bar in Silverton, Romero’s, but that neither he nor his wife had anything to drink since arriving home.
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
McFarland Arrest Affidavit (PDF)
