HOUSTON – Attorneys for a former middle school teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student and meeting with him again after her initial arrest want their client to get mental health treatment outside of the Harris County Jail.
Doctors and defense attorneys said former Memorial Middle School teacher Kathryn Murray, 29, is suffering from depression and may have bipolar disorder.
Murray has been charged with harboring a runaway. She was out on bond on a sexual assault of a child charge when the new charge was filed.
In February 2012, Murray was accused of going to a 15-year-old student's house and having sex with him. Murray was released from jail on bond and ordered not to have contact with the boy.
On Jan. 26, police went to the home where Murray had been staying after they got a tip from a private investigator that the teen, who is now 16, was staying with her.
Detectives said the teen's parents told them that the boy had left home without permission.
Officers surrounded the home where Murray was staying, knocked the door for a while and shined bright lights into the house. The teen tried to leave through a back door, but police caught him. Detectives said he told them that Murray was inside the home.
Murray was arrested and is being held in the Harris County Jail without bond.
The 16-year-old's mother said Murray needs to stay in jail.
"She needs to be away from my son," said the 16-year-old's mother. "It's very difficult for the whole family. She needs to be where she is right now."
Murray's next court appearance is set for Feb. 26.