BEULAH -- Joni Holbrook's family wept and embraced as a bailiff prepared to lead her from a Benzie County courtroom to a jail cell.
Holbrook, 48, is charged with an open count of murder in the Aug. 10 shooting death of her husband, Michigan State Police Sgt. Melvin P. Holbrook. She had been free on bond since October, but headed back to jail Tuesday after a brief hearing before Benzie Circuit Judge James M. Batzer.
Holbrook was bound over for trial in October after a preliminary examination. District Judge Nancy Kida ruled Holbrook must stand trial on the murder charge, but she granted bond after her attorneys said Holbrook had a serious heart condition.
Batzer later ordered Holbrook's attorneys to provide a doctor's note as proof.
Holbrook attorney Jesse L. Williams gave Batzer notes from two medical doctors and a psychologist that said jail could aggravate Holbrook's medical conditions, but he acknowledged a "misdiagnosis" of her heart condition.
The alleged misdiagnosis is a game-changer, Batzer said.
"The premise of the district court's decision for admitting this defendant to bail was there was a representation of a heart condition which would require a number of medically invasive procedures. It turns out that, lo and behold, that simply is not the case," he said. "So the premise for the district court's decision ... has evaporated upon further medical investigation, apparently."
Williams said Holbrook suffers from stress and is "on the verge of suicide," though Batzer said jail isn't an easy place to be.
"This court is of the opinion that being in jail is stressful to almost everyone who's there," he said.
Williams said the jail isn't equipped to handle Holbrook's needs. Benzie County Sheriff Rory Heckman disagreed, citing her jail stay before bond was granted.
"She was lodged here for a very lengthy period of time, and we didn't have any issues," he said.
Authorities believe Holbrook shot her husband with his service weapon as he slept. She didn't give investigators a motive, though her attorneys allege Melvin Holbrook abused her.
Melvin Holbrook, 53, was a 23-year state police veteran who served as a desk sergeant at the Traverse City post at the time of his death. He previously served at posts in Manistee, Coldwater and elsewhere.
Holbrook's trial is scheduled for April.
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