District attorney Tetens having trouble finding prosecutors willing to accept capital murder cases in the wake of recusals

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - McLennan County District Attorney Josh Tetens and Michel Simer, his executive first assistant, were partners in a Bellmead law firm for 15 years before Tetens won election in November.

Tetens and Simer tried to shut down their office as quickly as they could by trying to resolve pending criminal cases before moving into the DA’s office or transferring pending cases to other attorneys.

Those cases that remained pending and their ties to other cases – some they had even forgotten about – have led to the recusal of the DA’s office in about 30-35 cases and sparked searches for other district attorneys to take over the cases or requests for the Texas Attorney General’s Office to do so.

Some cases that are less complex or less serious have been easier to find others to accept them, Tetens said. District attorneys in Falls, Hill and Bosque counties have agreed to accept a few, as has the AG’s office.

But it’s been a different matter trying to find those willing to accept capital murder cases, especially those in which the death penalty might be sought.

“It’s a fluid list,” Tetens said. “Even last week, one came up that was not on anyone’s radar or list when the defendant brough it up that either myself or Michel had been appointed on the guy and he ended up hiring another attorney and we had a plea on it. That was a quick recusal and an appointment and it was sent to (District Attorney) Adam Sibley in Bosque County to finish out the plea. We did it out of an abundance of caution. We just want to make sure we are doing everything we can above-board and transparent and making sure no one feels they have been taken advantage of in any way.”

Prominent among the capital murder cases on which Tetens has recused his office is that of Christopher Weiss, 30, of Temple, charged with capital murder in the November 2017 shooting deaths of his 1-year-old daughter and the child’s mother at Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir.

Weiss has been in the McLennan County Jail since Nov. 8, 2017. His trial already has been delayed multiple times by the COVID shutdown and by numerous forensic tests of items found at the crime scene, including cigarettes butts from the public park. The recusal in the case could cause additional delays in Weiss’ trial.

As of Thursday, Weiss has been in the McLennan County Jail 1,920 days, which at $80 a day, has cost the taxpayers $153,600. He is charged with shooting Valarie Martinez, 24, and her daughter, Azariah. Martinez was found outside her car at the lake park, while the baby was found in a car seat inside the car. Each was shot twice in the head, officials have said.

As of Thursday, Tetens has not found anyone to accept Weiss’ case. Tetens recused his office because Simer assisted attorney Jessi Freud, who represents Weiss in the criminal case, finalize Weiss’ divorce after Martinez and her daughter were killed.

The delay is frustrating for Freud, who has fought to bring Weiss’ case to trial.

“Chris has maintained his innocence during this entire ordeal and is more than ready to get his day in court,” Freud said. “He has been waiting his turn despite many of the delays being beyond our control, most notably a pandemic and prior lame duck administration that refused to meaningfully prepare this case for trial. I think we can all agree six years is too long for someone to wait for a trial. We are hopeful we will get a setting for later this year.”

Tetens also has recused his office from prosecuting the Kevin Darnell Wash murder case because Simer helped Freud prepare witnesses for the case while Simer and Tetens still were in private practice. Wash’s case has since been transferred to the AG’s office for prosecution.

Wash, 24, initially was indicted for capital murder. However, he was re-indicted in April on murder and aggravated robbery charges in the February 2020 shooting death of 20-year-old Joangel Ortegon in what police called a “trap house,” or a residence on Trice Avenue used to sell drugs.

The DA’s office also stepped aside in the murder case involving Sarah Elizabeth Hunt, who is charged in the Nov. 9, 2020, shooting death of her son, Garrett Hunt, on what would have been his first day at Riesel High School.

Again, the recusal was necessary, Tetens said, because Simer represented Hunt in a divorce case. A psychiatrist has since found that Hunt was not sane at the time of the offense, but her case remains pending.

“It’s not complicated,” Tetens said of the recusals. “I really don’t think there will be any significant delays or issues with folks getting their day in court or working out a plea. It’s just one more task that must be completed.”

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