RENO, Nev. - A man charged with killing his wife, the former state controller, has won bail and will be released from jail next week, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Chaz Higgs, who has been jailed since September in the killing of Kathy Augustine, won a ruling Thursday that will allow his release on $250,000 bail if he stays in the state and remains in daily contact with his lawyers.
Higgs, an emergency room nurse who is accused of poisoning Augustine with an injection of a paralytic drug in July, should be able to post bail next week and be released from the Washoe County jail, said lawyer David Houston.
Higgs pleaded not guilty in December to murder.
Washoe County District Judge Steven Kosach ruled at a hearing in which he also declined a request to dismiss the charges; lawyers had argued there was a lack of evidence.
Higgs' lawyers had suggested $150,000 bail, while a prosecutor argued that if bail had to be set, it should be for $5 million.
Kathy Augustine, 50, died July 11 at a Reno hospital. Tests revealed traces of a powerful muscle relaxant, succinylcholine, in her system. The drug, which paralyzes respiratory muscles, is used to allow the insertion of breathing tubes while patients remain conscious.
Higgs was arrested Sept. 29 in Hampton, Va. Trial is tentatively set for July.
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