HOUSTON – Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare tells 2 Investigates some of his most seasoned prosecutors are working through a backlog of murder and capital murder cases.
Data obtained from the DA’s Office through Apr. 17 shows there are 765 murder cases filed since 2019 that are still pending completion.
Harris County jail records show there are currently 720 people in jail on murder or capital murder charges awaiting trial.
“We’ve put some of our best, most experienced prosecutors up in the homicide division and that’s all they do, they’re dealing with these murders,” said Teare. “Let’s figure out what we’re missing. Let’s figure why we’re not going to trial and let’s move them on down the line.”
Teare noted the office has cleared 50 murder and capital murder cases since he took office in January. Teare said the office currently expects a murder or capital murder case, from time of arrest to adjudication, to take an average of three years to complete.
Teare also said he is creating a homicide “call-out” team to help cases move efficiently through the criminal justice system.
Citing manpower constraints, Teare said he is meeting with all law enforcement agencies in Harris County to develop a criterion for when a prosecutor will be called to a scene as soon as a victim is found.
“The law enforcement people are going to need warrants written on the scene. They’re going to need advice on the scene that’s, ‘can we go into this house,’ ‘do we need a warrant,’ things like that,” said Teare.
Teare said the call-out system will also help with prosecutor turn-over on cases. 2 Investigates has spoken to several families over the years who’ve complained of dealing with multiple prosecutors on their loved one’s murder cases.
Terry Tondre’s son, Keith Tondre Hardy, was murdered Dec. 1, 2019. The case has not yet gone to trial.
“How many prosecutors have been on your son’s case?” asked 2 Investigates Robert Arnold.
“The first year we were getting one every other month, it seemed like. I would say a good ten or eleven,” said Tondre.
The man accused of killing Hardy, Jeremiah Brown, was charged with the murder in 2021 after being arrested in Houston County on charges of stealing a gun and possession of marijuana.
He was charged the following year with having a “shank” inside the Harris County jail.
“When you lose a child, it’s an everyday hurt,” said Tondre. “Constantly open wound. The anxiety, the frustration of having to wait for justice to be served, it keeps the wound open.”
Tondre said she met Teare before he was elected at a monthly Parents of Murdered Children meeting. Tondre said she believes Teare will keep his promise of working to get older murder cases, like her son’s, moving toward trial.
Harris County court records show Brown’s trial is currently scheduled for the end of October.
“You’re re-victimizing that family member and that family every single time,” Teare said of complaints from families like Tondre. “When you have to call and introduce yourself as the seventh prosecutor on your loved one’s murder, you’ve ripped the wound wide open again.”
Teare said he hopes to expand the number of prosecutors in the homicide bureau over the next two and-a-half years. He also said the goal is for prosecutors on the homicide “call-out” team to work the case from the time a victim is discovered until it is adjudicated.