A woman jailed on a $1 million bond because she was suspected of murdering an elderly Wichita Falls man went free this week on her promise to appear in court, according to court records.
Janae Ariana Aragon’s release was triggered when the murder case did not go before a grand jury for indictment within a legal time limit, officials said.
The Wichita County District Attorney’s Office cited a backlog in evidence testing at crime labs as the reason the case was not yet ready for grand jury presentation.
Aragon was booked into the Wichita County Jail on March 18 and held on a $1 million bond for a murder charge in connection with the stabbing death of 70-year-old James Shierling on Oct. 26, 2022, court and jail records show.
But she was released on a personal recognizance bond Tuesday, according to online jail records.
Murder is punishable by up to life in prison. Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless convicted beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Justice of the Peace James Hughes said he ordered Aragon released on the PR bond after she was not indicted by a grand jury within 90 days, a time limit set by law.
A PR bond does not require a defendant to pay money or post a bond to be released, and the suspect goes free on their promise to show up for court.
David Bost, Wichita County chief public defender, said Aragon had been held in jail for 99 days and had to be released according to law. He said certain stipulations will apply to her release, such as wearing an ankle monitor and reporting to her probation officer.
The Wichita County District Attorney’s Office provided a statement Wednesday about Aragon’s release.
“There is significant forensic and DNA testing that is still pending at the labs, and the investigation is not at the point, because of the need for this testing, for us to be able to present it to the grand jury yet,” the DA’s Office statement said.
“Unfortunately, the state testing labs are significantly backlogged, and the testing takes a long time on these types of cases,” the DA’s Office said. “When the testing is complete, we will have a full picture of the case and present it to the grand jury.”
Shierling was found dead in an apartment building in the 1300 block of 11th street, and investigators found Aragon’s DNA on a partly-burned cigarette at the crime scene, according to allegations in court documents filed in the case.
Shierling was discovered deceased in the kitchen of an apartment, and police believe he was seated in a wheelchair just before or during a deadly attack, according to allegations in court documents. An autopsy revealed he had been stabbed to death.
A witness had seen Aragon in Shierling’s apartment the day before he was killed, according to allegations in court documents.
Police also found a partly-burned cigarette on an unopened can of peas, and a natural gas line to a heater was disconnected, according to allegations.
An investigator contends evidence in the apartment suggests someone put a lit cigarette on the can of peas to cause a gas explosion and destroy evidence although the gas valve was found to be in the off position during the investigation, according to allegations in court records.
Aragon, who was from New Mexico, returned to Albuquerque the day after the murder, court documents show.
She had been arrested in November 2022 in New Mexico on suspicion of stabbing another person there in a separate case, according to allegations in court documents.
Times Record News Executive Editor Trish Choate contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Accused of a brutal murder, she went free when the case didn’t go before a Wichita County grand jury. DA’s Office cites crime lab backlog
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
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