October 8th, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com) American citizen, Ann Patton Bender, who was accused of murdering her husband, John Felix Bender, in Costa Rica in 2010, has been moved out of the ICU, and into the women’s prison, El Buen Pastor, located in San Rafael Arriba de Desamparados, in San Jose.

Ms. Bender has been sentenced to 22 years for first-degree murder, following an initial acquittal of the charges in January 2013, of killing John Bender on August 8, 2010, in the bedroom of their 5,000 acre estate, which they called Boracayan, in Perez Zeledon. In Costa Rica, both the convicted and prosecutors are able to file appeals to court decisions, which led to the retrial and conviction of Ann Bender in May.

Ms. Bender now shares a module with forty other inmates at Buen Pastor. She sleeps in a bunk bed, is allowed family visitation four hours per week, has no access to the internet, and shares a public phone with her cell mates which only allows phone calls within Costa Rica. Like other such facilities in the country, the prison has no hot water. Meals are basic, and those who are able, usually prefer to have family or friends deliver their food. Bender’s family reports that the physician who attends to inmates has been as kind and helpful as can be expected for a doctor who is responsible for some 800-inmates at a time.

Ms. Bender’s brother, Kenneth Patton, credits a fellow American named Gregory Fischer for putting his own life on hold to be her advocate here in Costa Rica. He brings her food, clothing, medication, books, and helps facilitate Bender’s limited contact with the outside world.

Mr. Fischer reports that Ms. Bender has a heart condition which requires her to have a heart port for the injection of daily medications into her heart. That port is currently infected, he states. Ms. Bender also suffers from Lyme disease which causes her to have challenges with mobility, and she walks with a cane.

It has been reported by various news sources that Ms. Bender has accused the trustee of her estate, Juan de Dios Alvarez, Esq., of mismanaging funds belonging to the trust, leaving her with limited funds with which to mount her defense.

The U.S. Embassy has visited Ms. Bender several times, and her brother, Kenneth Patton, reports having spoken for several hours with an Embassy official. Ms. Bender’s family told Inside Costa Rica that they are hoping for an appeal of Bender’s sentence. They said that she has co-operated fully with authorities, and continues to have faith in the Costa Rican judicial system.