Bernie Tiede, convicted murderer immortalized onscreen in Bernie (2012) starring Jack Black, has been released from prison on bond and will be living with Bernie director Richard Linklater.

Tiede, 55, was convicted of the murder of his friend, Majorie Nugent, an elderly widow, in 1999 and sentenced to life in prison. Nugent and Tiede met in 1990 at her husband’s funeral and Nugent eventually left her $10 million estate to Tiede in her will.

Bernie

In 2012, Linklater, a director known for Dazed and Confused (1993) and the Before Sunrise (1995) series, directed a dark comedy, Bernie, about the murder, with Black starring as a fictional Bernie and Shirley MacLaine as Nugent. The film explored the strange nature of the case, in which the people of Carthage, Tex., where Tiede and Nugent lived, all loved Tiede and hated Nugent.

Bernie Tiede To Live With Richard Linklater

Recently, new evidence convinced a judge to grant him an early release. Tiede reportedly suffered sexual abuse when he was younger, a fact that was not presented during his original trial and a psychiatrist testified at a recent hearing that his relationship with Nugent was abusive and that Tiede does not represent a danger to society.

“He doesn’t come across in examination at all as a person prone to violence…That set of circumstances…is not going to recreate itself,” said Edward Gripon, a psychiatrist who examined Tiede.

Earlier this week, Linklater testified on Tiede’s behalf and offered to allow Tiede to live with him at his home in Austin, Tex. Terms of Tiede’s release include that he reside in Linklater’s garage apartment, pay a $10,000 personal bond, stay away from guns and must attend counseling. Tiede’s release is also conditional on whether or not the Texas Court of Appeals signs off on his reduced sentence.