A Fayette County judge declared a mistrial in a Lexington murder case Tuesday because prosecutors failed to get ahold of a key witness — even though their suspect’s lawyer had no trouble contacting the same person.
William Parker “Bill” Brown, 56, was found guilty last year of the murder of 62-year-old Ava Creech, who was found bound, gagged and decomposing in a closet in her Victoria Way home Oct. 2, 2020. He was sentenced to life in prison, but that conviction was overturned in October 2025 by the Kentucky Supreme Court, who said prosecutors withheld evidence.
His second trial began Monday, and ended abruptly Tuesday when Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas Travis reluctantly declared a mistrial…