A judge has granted a bond reduction for the mom who drove her van full of children into the Atlantic Ocean.
Ebony Wilkerson tried to convince the judge Thursday that she's better now and not the same person who drove into the surf.
The judge agreed to a point.
During a hearing Thursday, a judge reduced the amount to $90,000 from $1.2 million. If released on bond, Wilkerson cannot have any contact with her children. She must also see a psychologist or psychiatrist and give proof of taking her medications.
She is charged with three counts each of attempted first-degree murder and child abuse.
Prosecutors said Wilkerson planned to kill her three children by intentionally driving her minivan into the ocean. Bystanders rescued the kids.
Since the incident, she has given birth to another child, and is now on a low-dosage anti-psychotic medication.
“I feel like I'm back to my normal self and I'm feeling like my old self...like old Ebony,” Wilkerson told the judge.
The defense is claiming she has mental issues.
During testimony, we learned of a prior “incident” in 2005 in which Wilkerson's family had her committed to a New York hospital for psychiatric treatment. She was placed on similar medication back then, but stopped taking it.
We also learned before she drove the van into the ocean back on March 4, she accused her husband, Lutful Ronjon, of being violent and assaulting her and a child in South Carolina.
Wilkerson testified she still stands by the report she filed, and she was following the advice of a counselor who told her to get herself and the kids away from her husband.
“I wasn't intending to go back to South Carolina," Wilkerson said. "I was doing everything out here. That's what I was trying."
Ronjon denies the account and after the hearing, he said he still supports his wife.
“We're all waiting for her to come back home, and the kids to come back home," Ronjon said. "We love her very much and we're all going to pull through this.”