Bastrop, Tx–Haley Bellard, 15, was in state district court here Dec. 22 when her lawyers and prosecutors agreed on who will administer psychological exams to help the judge decide whether she will be tried under adult or juvenile rules on murder charges linked to the August death of her mother, Tracy Bellard of McDade.
When exam report results will be completed and when the court will hear evidence and arguments on the prosecution’s motion to proceed under adult criminal law is not yet certain, said 423rd District Judge Chris Duggan, who is handling the case.
Joseph Douglas, 18, is also charged with murder in the death of Tracy Bellard. He is being held in the Bastrop County Jail under $500,000 bail. Haley Bellard is being held in a juvenile detention facility in Seguin.
Investigators allege that Haley Bellard and Douglas were romantically involved and that Tracy Bellard sought to interfere in the relationship before she was shot to death in mid August at her McDade home. The body was subsequently taken to a site and burned in a brush pile near where Douglas was living close to Smithville, according to investigators.