LAKEPORT— A Lakeport woman arrested and supsected of murder was in custody and recently present at the Lake County Superior Court for a motion to compel hearing.
Defense Counsel, Thomas C. Quinn, withdrew his motion to compel and requested a continuation in this matter. Being there was no objection, the preliminary examination has been scheduled for the end of this month with the master calendar call set for August 25, 2023.
The defendant, Melinda Mildred Fred, 39, has been ordered to appear on both dates.
A motion to compel is a request for the court to enforce a request for information related to a case.
During a hearing in July, defense counsel for the defendant appeared remotely and indicated he is not ready for the preliminary hearing as there is outstanding discovery in the matter. He requested the matter be continued.
There was no objection to the request for a continuance as the Court found cause to continue the matter, which has now been continued again.
In June the Court took up the bail review hearing and the probation officer’s assessment was read and considered.
Defense counsel presented exhibits, which were letters in support of defendant and the victim’s registration under Megan’s Law.
Megan’s Law is the name for a federal law in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Laws were created in response to the murder of Megan Kanka.
The matter was argued and submitted.
The motion to reduce bail was denied and the Court stated the issue may be revisited after the preliminary hearing.
In May, during an arraignment hearing, the Court appointed Thomas C. Quinn as counsel for the defendant.
Bail was set in the amount of $1M and bail was not argued at that time.
A copy of the complaint was provided to the defendant by the jail staff.
The defendant faces charges of murder, assault with a deadly weapon that is not a firearm (with gross bodily injury likely) and inflict corporal injury on spouse/cohabitant.
The charges stem from an incident in May when Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call in the early morning hours that someone had been stabbed on Red Feather Lane in Lakeport.
According to Lake County Sheriff Lt. Lucas Bingham, deputies located Christopher Aaron Burrows on the ground with a stab wound.
Life-saving measures were unsuccessful as Burrows succumbed to his injuries. He was declared dead at the scene.
Upon an investigation, which included video surveillance and reviews, Melinda Fred was questioned by detectives. She was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail.
