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A mistrial was granted by a Dallas County judge on Wednesday for Jorge Esparza, who stands accused of stalking and killing his romantic rival.
Judge Nancy Mulder voluntarily recused herself from the case after comments she made on the first day of Esparza’s trial. The remarks, which were captured on a courtroom livestream, were reported by The Dallas Morning News to be disparaging toward the accused man’s guilt.
Mulder granted the mistrial approximately an hour after the defense filed the motion.
Esparza maintains his plea of not guilty in the shooting death of 27-year-old Ricardo Medina-Madriz in August 2020.
According to prosecutors, Esparza became fixated on a woman with whom he had a previous relationship and then targeted her new romantic interest, Madriz. Prosecutors allege that Esparza ambushed Madriz, who was on his first date with the woman on the night of his death.
Madriz, a registered nurse pursuing his master’s degree at the University of Texas at Arlington, tragically lost his life in the incident.