Prosser mother out of jail days after killing best friend

A Prosser murder suspect was released from county jail Thursday just 2 1/2 hours after a judge cut her bail in half.

Amy S. Brown, 36, posted bond on $50,000 bail.

She’d been in custody since Saturday for allegedly shooting her best friend while they were celebrating Brown’s recent birthday.

Amanda L. Hill, 35, died from the two bullet wounds to her torso.

Brown pleaded innocent Thursday in Benton County Superior Court to second-degree murder. Her trial is scheduled April 2.

During arraignment, defense attorney Adam Pechtel asked for the bail to be reduced to $10,000 from $100,000.

Pechtel noted that Brown fully cooperated with law enforcement investigating Hill’s death.

Brown has two sons, lives on her father’s West North River Road property and has no criminal history in the past two decades, Pechtel said.

He asked the almost two dozen people in court on Brown’s behalf to stand in the gallery. That included Brown’s fiancé, parents and pastor.

Pechtel added that he had 25 letters of support from others in the Prosser community.

“There are strong defense arguments in this case if you read the probable cause statement. It’s a strong argument for self-defense,” the attorney said.

Additionally, Brown needs medical treatment for a broken foot, Pechtel said.

Brown was in a wheelchair during both court appearances this week. Officials have said the injury is not related to the fight with Hill.

Prosecutor Andy Miller asked to keep the bail at $100,000.

He acknowledged that normally prosecutors would ask for significantly higher bail on a murder case because it is a serious charge with a potentially long prison sentence.

However, Miller recognized Brown’s lack of failures to appear in court because of her clean record, which otherwise might suggest she is a flight risk.

Miller also said that the letters provided by the defense all addressed Brown’s general character, and not the likelihood of her appearing at future court hearings.

Judge Cameron Mitchell said it was appropriate to set some bail because of the serious allegation and the danger to the community. He settled on the $50,000 amount.

Hill was the mother of a 13-year-old boy. She moved from the westside to Prosser sometime in the last 1 1/2 years and had worked with Brown.

Brown told investigators that after drinking for several hours, she found Hill in bed with her own fiancé.

She yelled at them, then went outside to have a cigarette, and that’s when Hill attacked her from behind, Brown claimed.

She said she was able to get up, open the door of her Cadillac Escalade and grab her .38 Smith & Wesson revolver, court documents said.

After telling Hill to “get off,” Brown fired two shots as Hill had her hands around her friend’s throat, documents said.

Brown claimed that she knew Hill was only trying to fight her, not kill her, but she still fired her revolver.

Benton County jail records show Brown got out at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

This story was originally published February 15, 2018 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Prosser mother out of jail days after killing best friend."