AUSTIN, Texas — A 26-year-old man charged in a 2023 Austin murder will never face trial, after prosecutorial missteps led to the collapse of the case just as proceedings were set to begin.
Senior Reporter Tony Plohetski and our partners at the Austin American-Statesman have been investigating the unraveling of charges against Dekatur Richey, who stood accused of participating in the shooting death of Keith Bedford outside a Southeast Austin apartment complex—a crime police say was financially motivated.
On the second day of Richey’s trial, as opening statements were about to start, his attorney discovered prosecutors failed to disclose critical information about two witnesses. Notably, the defense learned that a key witness planned to change her account—an account central to placing Richey at the scene. Prosecutors also found another witness unreliable but did not share that assessment with the defense…