FRANKLIN, Va. (WAVY) – A former Southampton County Sherriff’s deputy charged with murder was denied bond Thursday morning.

Stephanie Mulder, who was a deputy with the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office for five years from 2008 to 2013, has been accused of shooting and killing her husband, Jonathan Mulder, in Courtland Feb. 2.

Mulder faces three charges in connection with her husband’s murder, serious charges her lawyer, James Broccoletti, is trying to defend.

“Second-degree murder, use of a firearm in commission of the second-degree murder and possession of a weapon while in possession of a Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 controlled substance,” he said, laying out her gun, drug and murder warrants.

A criminal complaint obtained by 10 On Your Side shows that Stephanie Mulder and Jonathan Mulder were smoking crack cocaine at the time of the shooting. Thursday’s bond hearing revealed that Jonathan’s one-year-old son was in the house at the time.

She told Southampton authorities she shot her husband only after he pointed his own weapon at her. After no other guns were found at the scene, investigators said she changed her story to say she shot him after an alleged assault and thought he was reaching for a gun.

Stephanie Mulder filed two protective orders against Jonathan Mulder in the past, one in August 2022 and the other in October.

Despite initial questioning, she wasn’t arrested and left to stay with her mother in West Virginia.

“Police allowed her to leave, she kept in contact with the police, she kept in contact with the authorities, authorities knew where she was,” her lawyer said. “That’s how she got the message that there were warrants that were outstanding.”

Broccoletti said she turned herself in after learning of the charges she faced, calling him and police.

Although the courts said that showed good faith, she was still denied bond.

“The court, after considering the arguments of counsel and evidence (that) was presented,” her lawyer said, “determined that she was not a risk of flight because she came and turned herself in, but that she was a danger to the community, so the court denied bond.”

He said there were many ways the court could’ve eased concerns about her threat to the community.

“You could be on a program – substance abuse, counseling, drug testing, alcohol testing, GPS monitoring, curfews – multiple things,” Broccoletti said.

He explained why he didn’t agree with the court’s decision.

“She has no prior criminal record,” Broccoletti said. “She has no history, she was law enforcement. She left law enforcement voluntarily; she wasn’t kicked out in that regard. So, I think that there were terms, the court disagreed.”

Mulder’s next court date is scheduled for July 20.