A woman accused of trying to suffocate a 92-year-old man had her bail lowered and got out of jail last weekend.

Records show that Superior Court Judge Richard Mills lowered the defendant’s bail from $500,000 to $100,000 last Friday, and she paid a $10,000 premium to Bail Hotline to post her bond.

Donna Lee Darling was freed on Saturday, August 25.

Sixty-year-old Donna Darling was charged earlier the same week with attempted murder and felony elder abuse for allegedly stuffing a sweater into the mouth of Benjamin Farber, who was asleep in his own bed at the time.

Investigators said it was about 7 p.m. on August 16 when a caretaker caught Donna Darling in the elderly man’s bedroom, in his own trailer home in a mobile home park in Oceanside.

Donna Lee Darling pleaded not guilty through her privately retained defense attorney, Herb Weston, who also pointed out that his client’s previous convictions were all misdemeanors from a long time ago. Weston said the woman had a relationship with the elderly man “like an adopted daughter.”

Prosecutor Ryan Saunders said that Donna Darling “stands to gain when he passes away” and “she is in his will.”

Judge Mills set the next court date for Donna Darling on September 11 in San Diego’s North County Superior Courthouse.

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