Cheyanne Wright, a woman charged with murder in connection with a deadly DUI crash in El Dorado Hills last year, is back behind bars after being granted a temporary release by an El Dorado County judge. Judge Michael McLaughlin approved Wright's 48-hour release to visit a sick relative on Sunday.
Wright was accused of causing a DUI crash in May 2025 that killed 84-year-old Joan Allison. She also faces child abuse charges because she had two young children in her car at the time of the crash.
According to El Dorado County Chief Probation Officer Kaci L. Smith, Wright was fitted with an ankle monitor during her temporary release, and probation is taking extra steps to manually monitor the case for the next 48 hours.
Wright's return to jail comes after a recent controversy involving Judge McLaughlin, who did not order Carl Cacconie into custody last summer despite his conviction on child sex crimes. Cacconie was later accused of faking his own death and evading authorities for nearly 10 months before being arrested by the FBI earlier this month.
**Background**
The fatal DUI crash that led to Wright's charges occurred in May 2025 in El Dorado Hills, resulting in the death of 84-year-old Joan Allison. Wright also faces child abuse charges due to her two young children being present during the incident.
Judge McLaughlin has been at the center of controversy after his handling of Cacconie's case last summer. Despite a jury conviction on child sex crimes, Cacconie was not taken into custody and later evaded authorities for nearly 10 months before being arrested by the FBI in Scottsdale, Arizona.