ORLANDO, Fla. _ A judge Thursday granted a $750,000 bond for Grant Amato, who's accused of killing his parents and brother in their Chuluota home in January.
Amato, 29, could be released from the Seminole County Jail if he procures $75,000. As part of the bond, Amato is forbidden from accessing the internet and will have to be monitored by a GPS device. He cannot leave Central Florida or contact any witnesses in the case, including his surviving brother, Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler ruled.
Amato is accused of shooting his brother, Cody Amato, and parents Margaret and Chad Amato to death in their home Jan. 25. Authorities say Grant Amato was kicked out of his home that night after violating his father's ultimatum to stop talking with a Bulgarian woman he met on an adult website.
Authorities say Amato stole more than $250,000 from his family to spend on tokens to talk with the woman. He's forbidden from using funds from his parents' estate to post bond.
Assistant State Attorney Stewart Stone requested bond be set at $25 million during the Thursday hearing, noting that Amato has extensive knowledge in computers.
"You can do a lot with a computer," Stone said. "You can create false identification, change your identity, create travel documents. ... A person can virtually disappear."
Stone also said he was concerned about Amato's connection with Silvie, the Bulgarian woman whom he claimed to be in love with.
"That is certainly one incentive for him to leave this country and go to Bulgaria," Stone said.
Amato's attorney, Jeff Dowdy, said his client has been cooperative since his arrest in January. He said Amato had the opportunity to flee after Seminole County Sheriff's investigators released him for a short while after he was initially interviewed by detectives.
"After spending several weeks now in jail, I'm confident he will abide by all the conditions that have been set by the court," Dowdy said.
