A woman allegedly involved in the gruesome murder of a young, intellectually disabled woman in North Carolina — with prosecutors asserting she, along with three others, killed the victim and then “stuffed” her inside a mattress — has been allowed to remain out on bond regardless of repeatedly breaching her release conditions, according to a judge.

America Diehl, who is currently residing in South Carolina, has been found on multiple occasions to have failed to charge her electronic ankle monitor and has also violated curfew several times over the past two years as she awaits trial for the 2020 murder of Mary Collins, prosecutors from the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office reported, as per local CBS affiliate WBTV.

A local judge reportedly decided against revoking Diehl’s bond on Friday and opted to remove the ankle monitor entirely after her lawyer argued that she does not pose a threat to the community, is gainfully employed, and is willing to cooperate with the DA’s office. Prosecutors, however, insisted that Diehl be returned to jail with a set bond of $500,000 due to her repeated violations, which include failing to charge her ankle monitor as recently as Oct. 9, just one day prior to her court appearance, according to The Charlotte Observer.

“She was 18 years old when this happened and was thrust into a dire situation,” Diehl’s attorney, Lambert Guinn, informed the judge. “She is maintaining employment. She has avoided further trouble to the greatest extent possible. Her willingness to assist and participate (in the cases against the other defendants) has remained consistent.”

Guinn highlighted the unreliability of electronic ankle monitoring, with the judge reportedly concurring that it could not be relied upon. Diehl has pleaded not guilty to charges of accessory after the fact and concealing a death. Prosecutors allege that she used Cascade dish detergent and pumpkin spice shower gel to disguise the odor of Collins’ body.

“The pain just keeps going,” said Collins’ mother, Kasei Canfora, in an interview with WBTV.

“I feel like I’ve been violated over and over again,” she told the outlet. “Not just with what happened with my daughter but every time I come to this courthouse. There’s a place reserved in hell for them. Each one of them. There is a place reserved in hell.”

This is not the first time that Collins’ family has voiced outrage over decisions made by the court, with the release of one of her accused killers, James Salerno, in 2023 leaving relatives incensed as well.

“It happens over and over again, and it’s unacceptable,” Canfora told the Observer.

Collins was 21 years old when she was stabbed 133 times at an apartment in the NoDa neighborhood — known for being an arts and entertainment hub — of Charlotte. Her body was found hidden and covered in plastic wrap on April 4, 2020.

“[Diehl] stuffed Mary in a mattress,” prosecutor Bill Bunting alleged in court Friday.

Four people were accused and connected to Collins’ murder, with Salerno facing charges of murder, kidnapping, and failure to report a death or concealing a death. The others, Lavi Pham and Kelly Lavery, were charged with the same three crimes; Lavery pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while Pham and Salerno have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Left: James Salerno. Center: Kelly Lavery. Left: Lavi Pham (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office).

Collins’ family says she had the mental capacity of a 15-year-old due to her diagnosis of 22q deletion syndrome, also known as DiGeorge Syndrome, which is said to be the second-most common genetic disorder behind Down syndrome. “They bled her out in a bathtub like an animal in a slaughter house,” Collins’ grandmother, Mia Alderman, told the court during a bond hearing in January 2023 for Salerno, according to the Observer.

“They said Mary had a leash around her neck in the bathtub, bloodied, stabbed, dog leash around her neck,” Alderman recounted to local NBC affiliate WCNC after Lavery’s plea hearing in 2022. “I remember putting my hands over my ears, trying not to hear.”

Collins’ family has reportedly said that they believe Lavery and Pham allegedly got Collins sushi hours before killing her and posted a video with her to make it seem like Collins was not in danger. Prosecutors allege that Pham and Lavery, who the woman knew to be her friends, lured her to their apartment and planned to kill her in retribution for refusing to have sex with them both simultaneously.

Salerno spent over three years in jail and was initially denied bond before he was released in 2023. Lavery is serving a minimum 25-to-32-year sentence in state prison. Pham is still behind bars.

Asked about the decision to let Diehl ditch the ankle monitor and stay out of jail, Alderman told WBTV, “It’s been outrageous this whole time but never in a million years did I think that could happen.”

Collins’ mom told the Observer, “The mother, the person who carried her for nine months and gave birth to her, gets no say at all, other than to express my heartfelt pain and plead with the judge to give me some kind of justice, which I did not get at all.”

The trial for Collins’ murder is expected to happen in 2026.