AUSTIN (KXAN) — Anita Byington was killed in east Austin in 1991. She was 21 years old at the time.
“She had a future ahead of, her she was in college. She was funny. She was animated. She was beautiful,” her cousin Kristina said. “She was my best friend.”
On Monday, she went to the crime scene for the first time.
“I just had to see it once. Because I had imagined it for so many years. And it’s just some random apartment complex,” she said.
Kristina placed flowers and a button with a photo of Anita on the ground where police said Anita was beaten to death.
Judge makes recommendation to appeals court
Allen Andre Causey was convicted for murder in Anita’s death. He got out on parole in 2022, and has since worked with the Innocence Project to clear his name.
Monday would have been her 55th birthday. Symbolically, Kristina wanted to share her thoughts on a judge’s recent recommendation to the Court of Criminal Appeals on this day.
According to court documents, during the innocence hearings – the judge noted she found exculpatory evidence related to Causey and additional evidence that implicated a different suspect. However, her ruling stated Causey’s cases did not meet “his burden of proof to establish actual innocence.”
“I felt happy that she saw the evidence that we saw,” Kristina said.
Because the judge did side with the Innocence Project’s claims in certain areas, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office explained that the judge’s official recommendation involves her approval of granting Causey another trial.
The Court of Criminal Appeals will make the final decision on how to proceed.
“Once a case is sent up to the court of criminal appeals, there is no timeline as for when they have to make formal decisions,” said Jesse Freud, one of Causey’s attorneys. She said she expects a decision on a case like this to take about two years.
“We disagree with [the judge’s] reasoning on the actual innocence claim, but we’re really hopeful that the Court of Criminal Appeals will find we have satisfied our legal burden and will find our evidence is compelling and overwhelming and ultimately grant Mr. Causey relief,” Freud added.
Kristina said she is worried about the future of the case. While she said she was relieved to see the judge not recommend “full innocence” for Causey, she does not want to see him exonerated or see his case retried.
Previously in court, Kristina said she believed the Innocence Project and TCDA cherrypicked facts and evidence presented in the hearing.
In a statement, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office said “We agree with the Judge’s recommendation in this case that Mr. Causey be granted a new trial because the trial prosecutor withheld evidence during the original murder trial. In addition, new evidence recently came to light that placed an alternate perpetrator at the scene of the crime and showed that the alternative suspect engaged in a cover-up.”