Sarah Mellor, 30, Bloomington, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of her husband

A $1 million bond will remain in force for a Bloomington woman accused of first degree murder charges in the Oct. 16 stabbing death of her husband, Mark Mellor, 31, during a family camping excursion.

At a Nov. 29 hearing, Woodford County Judge Michael L. Stroh ruled against a motion to reduce bond to $200,00 for Sarah Kelch Mellor, 30, and said he considers the $1 million bond issue appropriate for a “very violent crime” in which Mellor “plunged a knife” into her husband’s chest.

Mellor pleaded not guilty Nov. 8 to two charges of first degree murder; intent to kill and intent to do great bodily harm with a high probability of death. Both are punishable by a minimum 20-year sentence.

Despite testimony by Sarah Mellor’s mother, and exhibits which included a glowing two-page letter from Mark Mellor’s mother, Jerri Andrew, Stroh sided with Woodford County State’s Attorney Greg Minger, who argued Mellor poses a flight risk with potential for self-harm.

In his argument, Minger detailed the events of the night Mark Mellor was murdered, including Sarah Mellor’s confession to a McLean County deputy that she stabbed her husband.  Citing police and coroner’s reports, Minger said the Mellors were bunking in a camper on private property on Oct. 16 in a Woodford County swath of rural Carlock, when an argument ensued around 11:45 p.m. after she insisted they leave the campsite.  

When her husband refused, Mellor wielded a nearby fixed-blade survival knife and, after an alleged struggle, drove the length of its 4-and-a-half inch blade into the left side of Mark Mellor’s chest. Minger said McClean County Coroner Dr. Kathy Davis reported Mellor was stabbed at a downward angle, damaging “critical internal organs.”

Bloomington High School Spanish teacher Sarah Mellor with her husband Mark Mellor in April of this year. The Mellor’s were married Nov. 7, 2013. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Mellor’s Facebook)

A dying Mellor was placed in the bed of a 2002 Chevy truck and driven by his wife to Normal’s BroMenn Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 12:15 a.m. At the hospital, Mellor confessed to stabbing her husband. Minger said Mellor claimed she believed the blade would “break off or bend.”

Normal Police officers were first at the hospital and reported “a large amount of blood” in the bed of the truck and a trail of blood leading from the truck to the hospital entrance, according to documents. Minger said police recovered the murder weapon at the campsite, and also discovered additional outdoor knives, rifles and “jars of cannabis buds”.  

“This is not a ‘who done it’ case,” defense attorney Stephanie Wong said, countering Minger’s statements by showcasing Mellor’s history as a lifelong law-abiding citizen. A Spanish teacher at Bloomington High School, Mellor grew up in Bloomington, only moving once, for a year, to work in Champaign before garnering her Master’s of Education from Illinois State University in Bloomington.

Wong defended Mellor’s character by pointing out her cooperativeness with police at the hospital, and her written request to Bloomington High School officials that it would be in the best interest of the students that she be permanently replaced.

“She has no prior criminal history. No drugs were involved.” She also argued against the use of electronic monitoring of Mellor upon her release, claiming it is costly and unnecessary.

“We acknowledge there was no criminal history leading up to this, but that is what makes her dangerous. It was unpredictable,” Minger said of Mellor’s inexplicable switch from a law-abiding citizen to an accused murderer.

Carolyn Sutter took the stand on behalf of her daughter and said she and her family could liquidate assets to afford to pay 10 percent of a $200,000 bond; a reduction of 80 percent of the original bond amount, which Wong described as “excessive” saying “it was one stab wound, not multiple.”

If freed, Mellor would live with her mother in Bloomington. In the meantime, Mellor’s home on Lee St.  there would either be sold or rented out, Sutter said. She also testified that Mark Mellor’s mother, Jerri Andrew, frequently pens letters to Mellor and has visited her at the Woodford County jail.  Wong concurred with this statement, claiming, “She writes Sarah all the time and has visited her on a couple of occasions.”

However, in Andrew’s letter to the court supporting a bond reduction, she wrote of the couple’s close, affectionate relationship and expressed concern that a grief-stricken Mellor would harm herself, requesting she be electronically monitored for her own good — two points which may have backfired for the defense.

Stroh weighed a number of aspects, including the savagery of the crime, the safety of the public and Mellor’s potential for self harm, and said the threat of a prison sentence factors largely into Mellor’s likelihood of fleeing.  

“Miss Andrews is concerned that she would harm herself. This is a serious concern,” Stroh said when denying the motion to reduce bond. “It appears she and Mark had a loving relationship prior to this and this incident was very traumatic for her, as well. I’m concerned she may harm herself.”

Mellor will return to court for a Dec. 27 status hearing and a Jan. 17 jury trial remains on the docket.

— Woodford Co. judge refuses to lower bond for Mellor in stabbing death of husband —