HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) -
There were some tense moments in court as a murder suspect who had been on the run for two months appeared before a judge Friday morning.
Ashley Howard is being accused of killing 24-year-old Michael Bailey, of Bloomfield, in Hartford's North End in June.
She was arrested in Westhamton, NJ, on Sunday by bail bondsmen, police and other agents.
Smirks made by Howard inside court on Friday didn't go unnoticed by friends and family members of Bailey, who were also inside the courtroom.
That led to some tense moments after she appeared.
Outside of court, police made their presence known for more than an hour to ensure nothing happened between the two families.
"It hasn't hit me yet that he's gone," said Brianna Hauser. "It felt tense in there. Especially how she walked out smiling."
Howard was said to have been in North Carolina and possibly Georgia and New Jersey while she was on the run, and because she was on the run for so long, Judge Joan Alexander kept Howard's bond at more than $3 million.
"I'm happy the judge denied her bail being lowered," said Jilisa Tiller, a friend of Bailey.
Hauser agrees.
"She was scared," she said. "She knew what she was doing, and what she did. I wouldn't show my face either."
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