Judge declares mistrial for man accused of killing Rockport woman on Slough Road in 2018
Four years after her death, a Nueces County jury has yet to convict anyone in the 2018 killing of Rockport woman Brenda King.
District Judge Missy Medary declared a mistrial Thursday after a jury failed to decide whether to convict one of the men charged in King's death, 26-year-old Mike Alfaro, of murder.
A jury did, however, convict Alfaro of one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in connection with the 2018 incident. He was sentenced to serve 17 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
It was not clear Thursday if prosecutors intend to retry Alfaro on the murder charge. Prosecutors in the case with the Nueces County District Attorney's Office did not respond to requests for comment.
In August 2018, Corpus Christi police found the body of 48-year-old King with a single gunshot wound to the head on Slough Road near Rodd Field Road. Alfaro and 30-year-old Michael Morgan were both indicted for murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in August 2019 after DNA appeared to link the pair to King's death.
The verdict in Alfaro's trial came after five days of testimony from various members of law enforcement, DNA experts and personnel from the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office.
The former Nueces County chief medical examiner, Dr. Adel Shaker, who conducted King's autopsy in 2018, was noticeably absent from the trial. Shaker resigned from the office in April after he was arrested on a warrant charging him with 17 counts of practicing medicine in violation of the Texas Occupations Code.
Alfaro's co-defendant in the case, Morgan, and former cellmate at the Denton County Jail, Mark Jones, also took the witness stand to testify against Alfaro.
Morgan, who has already pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, agreed to testify against Alfaro in exchange for a possible plea deal with the Nueces County District Attorney's Office. Morgan's trial is scheduled to begin in July.
Jones, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery, admitted he was testifying in hopes that he might receive a letter of support from the district attorney's office when he becomes eligible for parole.
Both the families of Alfaro and King were present when the verdict was read by Medary.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Kailey E. Hunt covers breaking news and public safety in South Texas. Help support more local coverage with a subscription at caller.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Judge declares mistrial for man charged in 2018 death of Rockport woman
