Zachary Wood murder suspect’s bond lowered

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - The bond for one of the four suspects accused of Zachary Wood’s murder was lowered on Monday.

READ: Family, friends remember Zachary Wood

30th District Court Judge Jeff McKnight lowered 21-year-old Ashley Esselborn’s bond from $1 million to $100,000, according to court documents.

Esselborn, Payton Collier, Ronnie Lang and William Bell were all arrested and charged in connection with the murder of Wood in May of 2022.

WARNING: details in this story may be graphic or upsetting for some readers.

The Wichita Falls Police Department said Wood was living on Brown St. with Collier and two other roommates at the time of his death. Wood’s body was found on May 21 at around noon, when police responded to a check welfare call and found a “ransacked” house with “evidence of a massive bloodletting event that occurred, in multiple rooms,” according to an affidavit.

Police say Esselborn reportedly did not take part in the assault, but did cheer it on, yelling about missing items such as drugs and money.

She allegedly left the scene and later returned to grab items and discard bloody items, according to police. A witness reportedly told a detective that they overheard Esselborn brag about not going to jail and that she did take part in the assault.

Esselborn remains jailed in Wichita County as of Tuesday at 2 p.m. If she bonds out, she would be required to remain in Wichita County at a specific address. She would also be on a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and have to wear a GPS monitor at all times, while also not having any contact with codefendants nor witnesses related to this case.

The bonds for Bell, Lang and Collier all remain at $1 million as of Tuesday.