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Accused Murderer Out On Bond After 9 Months in Jail

A Crawford County murder suspect has been released on bond after authorities say it took too long for her trial to begin. Patricia McClure-Hajek is accused of s...

A Crawford County murder suspect has been released on bond after authorities say it took too long for her trial to begin.

Patricia McClure-Hajek is accused of shooting and killing a highway department employee at an Interstate 40 rest stop in May of 2012.

She was released this month from the detention center.

Authorities say McClure-Hajek had been behind bars for more than nine months on a first degree murder charge in the shooting death of Sharon Richards.

Richards was working at the Arkansas Welcome Center along I-40 when she was shot in the neck twice, according to police. When authorities arrived on scene McClure-Hajek approached an officer holding a handgun.

Police say she then dropped the gun and they realized she had accidentally shot herself in the leg. She was later taken to jail.

McClure-Hajek has never been to trial.

Crawford County public defender Ryan Norris filed a motion in July arguing that under Arkansas State Law she should be released.

On Sept. 9 McClure-Hajek bonded out for half a million dollars. Part of her bond agreement requires her to check in at the detention center every Friday.

No trial date has been set. However, she's expected to be in court at 9 a.m. Dec. 2, according to court documents.

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