Bastrop, Tx–A 15-year-old from McDade was ordered to stand trial for murder in the August 2009 death of her mother, 42-year-old Tracy Belllard. Haley Bellard was 14 at the time of the incident.
Last week 423rd District Judge Chris Duggan in Bastrop ruled that Haley Bellard can be tried as an adult for her alleged role in her mother’s death. On May 25 the state grand jury for Bastrop County returned an indictment against the teen, in effect sending the case to trial . An indictment indicates that grand jurors decided there is enough evidence to warrant a trial. The action also serves as formal notice of a felony charge against a defendant. An indictment is not evidence of guilt in any case.
Since Duggan’s ruling earlier this month, Haley Bellard has been held in the Bastrop County Jail under $100,000 bail. Previously she had been held in a juvenile facility in Seguin.
Also charged in the death of Tracy Bellard is 18-year-old Joseph Douglas. He is in the Bastrop County Jail under $750,000 bail. Criminal investigators believe Tracy Bellard was shot to death in her McDade home last Aug. 14 after she tried to break up a romantic relationshiip between her daughter and Douglas.
Prosecutors said it could be another year before the case comes to trial.