MONROE — A defendant accused of killing her husband’s grandmother earlier this year cannot have any contact with most of her husband’s family if she gets out on bond. But she also has seen her bond amount reduced from an initial $1 million to $100,000.

That’s according to a bond modification order entered in court for the defendant last Friday, Aug. 25, in Lafayette County Circuit court, according to court records. 

Shannon Bussan, of Elizabeth, Ill., is accused of first-degree intentional homicide in the Feb. 27 death of Lynne Montgomery, 83, Benton. She was reportedly an intermittent companion or caregiver to Montgomery and authorities — citing cell phone logs and other data — contend she was in the area of the victim’s home prior to her death. 

She would have to post 10% of the $100,000 bond to win her freedom until trial, likely sometime in 2024. But the judge in the case also modified her bond, such as being ordered to “not have any direct or indirect contact with the family of the victim (including son, daughter, daughter in-law or grandchildren) with the exception of the defendant’s husband and their children.”

What’s more, if Bussan gets out, she must get permission to leave her home in Carroll County, with only trips to Madison to visit her lawyer and trips to Lafayette County for court allowed by the judge in the case, Dane County Circuit Judge Mario White. And those trips must be cleared with a probation officer first.

The case is scheduled for a status hearing before White at 9 a.m. on Dec. 1. Bussan maintains her innocence, and a not guilty plea for her was entered last May. A trial date for the case has not been set.

Montgomery’s death was initially considered to be due to natural causes but after relatives found what they thought were suspicious circumstances, police were called back to the home, in the 5000 block of Carr Factory Road in Benton, to take another look — culminating in the first-degree murder charges. An autopsy also reportedly pointed to foul play.

As a result, Bussan was arrested last March in nearby Galena without incident. She was sent back to Wisconsin for prosecution.

If Bussan is convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, she faces a sentence of life in prison.