It’s been more than three months since Roxanne McWilliams appeared in court in street clothes.

Although difficult times still lay ahead, the 49-year-old former Napa school teacher seemed more at ease when she came to Napa County Superior Court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder for shooting her live-in boyfriend as he slept in the Redwood Road home the couple shared on Sept. 8.

James Talley, 50, survived the gunshot wounds to his upper torso. Prosecutors say McWilliams emptied a 9mm Glock handgun early that morning, pulling the trigger three times while Talley lay sleeping and twice more after he walked to the bathroom and collapsed on the floor.

The shooting happened around 6 a.m. According to police, McWilliams admitted to leaving the house, ditching the gun under a lawn mower at a nearby school and returning to the house, where she was taken into custody.

She was booked into the Napa County jail and held without bail until Dec. 5, when Napa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Kroyer set bail at $250,000, half the amount requested by McWilliams’ defense attorney, Merv Lernhart.

Within a few days, McWilliams posted bail and is now living with relatives.

Meanwhile, Talley has problems of his own. He moved to Napa in May, leaving behind him two outstanding warrants for his arrest in Texas.

Talley was taken into custody last month by Napa police as he checked out of the homeless shelter on Gasser Drive.

After testifying at McWilliams’ preliminary hearing earlier this month, Talley, who waived extrication, was transported back to Texas. He is awaiting criminal prosecution on felony charges of domestic violence and failure to appear in court.

McWilliams’ Napa trial is set for April 7, and is expected to last two to three weeks. At her preliminary hearing the court found that she must answer to willful and premeditated attempted murder with special enhancements of assault with a firearm and intentional discharge of a firearm, causing great bodily harm.

If found guilty of all the charges, McWilliams faces 32 years to life in state prison.

At McWilliams’ preliminary hearing, Lernhart argued the more appropriate charge is voluntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of 11 years in prison.

Lernhart argued that McWilliams is a victim of Battered Women’s Syndrome. He told the court that Talley emotionally, physically and sexually abused his client. He also said Talley threatened to kill her, her mother, her daughters and other family members.

The night of the shooting, McWilliams said she waited for Talley to fall asleep, retrieved the gun from a bedroom dresser and shot him because she was fearful for her life and her family.

After the incident, Talley filed a civil personal injury lawsuit against McWilliams and her family. Although Talley is in custody in Texas, the civil lawsuit will go forward, according to Talley’s Napa attorney, Elisabeth Frater.

McWilliams has filed a cross complaint seeking damages from Talley for emotional distress, sexual battery, false imprisonment and domestic violence.