Bail was set at $2 million June 25 for Tiffany LaToya Nowden who is charged with stabbing her wife to death while in bed in their San Carlos home.
Nowden, 39, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Russina Vale, 38, whose body was found June 5 in their Mission Gorge Road apartment.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Jay Bloom set the high bail, saying Nowden represented a danger to the public. The prosecutor said she was also a flight risk and “was on the run for a little less than three weeks.”
San Diego Police received a call from an unnamed defense attorney June 5 that advised them of a possible slaying in the apartment, said Deputy District Attorney Lindsey Carinci.
Carinci said the fatal stab wound went through Vale’s arm into her chest. She was also stabbed in the stomach while unclothed in bed, she said.
The couple’s two dogs were also missing.
Nowden and Vale got married in early 2014, but the split was somewhat recent. Vale sent out an email to her family and friends announcing the marriage was over.
Vale worked at the Barona Casino and Nowden made an unannounced visit there, which resulted with Nowden being escorted off the Indian reservation some months ago.
The U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force arrested Nowden June 24 at a residence in the 2200 block of Market Street in Sherman Heights.
Initially, Nowden was suspected of leaving the area. Her photo was distributed by local media and in Colorado where both she and Vale lived separately. The photos of the missing dogs also were released, but it is not yet known if they were found.
There were stories in Colorado media because Vale lived there for 18 years and she has family members there.
Nowden had three felony cases filed against her in Vista Superior Court in 1994, 1995 and 1996, and she was convicted of a felony, said the prosecutor. She will next appear in court July 3 when a preliminary hearing will be set.
She remains in the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility.
