A man accused of killing his estranged wife more than 31 years ago in Baltimore County can be released on home detention through the jail but will have to remain in his house 24/7 except for medical and legal appointments, a judge ruled Friday.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Garret P. Glennon Jr. appeared to visibly wrestle with the decision and cleared his throat before announcing the ruling inside a packed courtroom.

The allegations in the case, he said, are horrific. But Glennon said he was tasked solely with determining whether Donald Lester posed a flight risk or a danger to the community.

Lester, 69, had lived in the same home in Randallstown since 1991 and worked for Pall Corp. for more than 35 years. No one disputes that he’s also experiencing serious medical issues, Glennon said.

“I feel constrained to follow the law,” Glennon said. “So there will be some form of release.”

Glennon then ruled that Lester could be released on home detention through the Baltimore County Detention Center.

If the jail determines he is ineligible for its program, Glennon said, he will consider release on private home detention.

Lester is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of his wife, Linda Lester, who was last seen alive on Oct. 11, 1994, leaving her job as a Baltimore County 911 operator. They were in the midst of a divorce.

Six days later, a Maryland State Highway Administration employee found her body, beaten and bruised, off Interstate 70. She was 31.

Detectives figured she had tried to fight off her attacker, so they held on to fingernail clippings taken during the autopsy for DNA testing.

Baltimore County Police revisited the case throughout the years and in 2025 received DNA test results they allege tie her husband to the killing.

Police arrested him on Oct. 2, 2025, and since then he’s been held without bond.

Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Fuller described the killing as a brutal murder and argued Donald Lester should continue to be held without bail.

But Joe Murtha, one of Donald Lester’s attorneys, contended his client was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community.

Donald Lester, he said, cannot receive proper medical care while he’s in jail. He has advanced glaucoma and cataracts, along with prostate and gastrointestinal problems, Murtha said.

“The health of Mr. Lester is deteriorating,” Murtha said. “We’re coming close to a civil rights violation.”

“I don’t think a person should go blind when they’re awaiting trial,” he later added.

Murtha also expressed concerns about whether he could effectively represent his client if he remained in the detention center.

Several family members and loved ones wrote letters in support of his release.

In one letter, Brianna Lester, Donald and Linda Lester’s daughter, wrote that her father is a God-fearing and kind man who’s accused of a crime he did not commit. She sat in the first row of the courtroom gallery.

“I am aware that the system has unfortunately and wrongfully labeled my dad as a murderer, which is far from the truth,” she said. “It literally hurts my soul and heart for him to be treated this way.”

Outside the courtroom, Brianna Lester walked up to Murtha and embraced him.