A woman accused of being drunk when she ran over and killed her boyfriend earlier this year entered not guilty pleas to charges of felony DWI and murder Tuesday.
Tammy Dawn Tholl, 42, appeared Tuesday with Deborah Moore of the Bowie County Public Defenders Office for arraignment before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart.
At the time of her arrest Sept. 27 by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, Tholl was charged with intoxication manslaughter. That charge was upped to murder because of Tholl's prior drunken driving convictions, according to her indictment.
Tholl allegedly did not stop after running over Mark Anthony Murray, 56, as she drove a white 2012 Nissan Maxima on Country Paradise Circle in Wake Village, Texas, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. Tholl allegedly left the scene and drove to her estranged husband's home on Meadows Lane in Texarkana, Texas, where she was arrested by DPS Trooper Chad Turner.
Tholl allegedly performed poorly on field sobriety tests and registered a .13 on a portable breathalyzer. Drivers are considered impaired at .08. Turner took Tholl to CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital in Texarkana where a sample of her blood was drawn and sent to the state crime lab for testing.
Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said results have not yet been returned from the state crime lab.
"I've turned over pretty well all the discovery the state has to date," Crisp said. "As soon as I get the blood results back, I will turn those over."
Tholl faces two to 10 years if found guilty of driving while intoxicated, third or more. If convicted of murder, Tholl faces five to 99 years or life in prison.
Moore said that the state has made a plea offer to Tholl, which she needs to review and discuss with her client. The specifics of the state's plea offer were not discussed in open court.
"I think we may be able to resolve this," Moore said.
Lockhart scheduled Tholl to return to court for a pretrial hearing Jan. 2.