Travis County officials apologize amid past theories of county murder victim’s death

Kelsey Thompson
·3 min read

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Following a second post-conviction innocence hearing Friday centered around a decades-old Travis County murder case, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office issued an apology to the victim’s family due to previous theories surrounding the victim’s death.

In late November, the 331st Criminal District Court heard new grounds filed by the Texas Innocence Project on behalf of Allen Andre Causey, who had been convicted in July 1992 for the murder of Anita Byington. Causey was paroled in October 2022, and the Texas Innocence Project filed its writ for habeas corpus that same month on behalf of Causey.

Day 1 of Causey’s post-conviction innocence hearing was held Nov. 27, while day 2 proceedings took place Friday.

Officials with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office (TCDA) said in a Friday statement two witnesses were called during the second hearing to debunk a previously held theory the State of Texas had involving matters of Byington’s death. The State’s previous theory of her death “included an allegation that Ms. Byington was somehow involved with drugs. We now know that to be false.”

“On behalf of the State of Texas, we apologize to the family of Anita Byington,” officials said in part, adding: “We hope to seek justice for Ms. Byington and her family and ensure that the person who killed her is held accountable.”

PAST COVERAGE: Innocence hearing being held in Travis County murder case

Both hearings have centered around the possibility of a false confession from Causey in Byington’s death. At the first hearing, Dr. Richard Leo — a false confessions and testimony expert — highlighted several circumstances that could’ve made Causey vulnerable to a false confession.

Those include:

  • Causey had an IQ estimated at 66; anyone with an IQ below 70 is documented as having a low IQ and therefore, more vulnerable to a false confession

  • Causey alleged he was physically choked by a detective, faced threats of the death penalty and sexual assault in prison as well as dealt with sleep deprivation during his police testimony, which can all compel someone to falsely confess out of fear or exhaustion

Byington’s family maintained their stance that they believed Causey was responsible for her death. Anita’s cousin, Kristina Byington, delivered an allocution statement on behalf of the Byington family in November; in it, she said The Innocence Project and TCDA cherrypicked facts and evidence presented in the hearing, adding all evidence should be presented if justice is truly the end goal.

In an email to KXAN Sunday, Kristina denounced TCDA’s statement, calling it a “slap in the face” to Anita’s legacy and remaining family.

“The Byington family categorically rejects this ‘apology’ and considers it to be a slap in the face.  Their statement is an attempt to deflect from the current DA’s Office’s misconduct in 2023-2024 where they have embarked with Causey’s attorneys on a goal to cast doubt on his conviction through a one-sided presentation that excludes all of the evidence of Causey’s guilt,” Kristina’s email read in part. “Anita Byington was never characterized as a drug user by in the original 1992 prosecution. Our family has obviously been involved in this case since day one, and we are very aware of what did and did not occur.”

More details on Byington’s murder investigation and the innocence hearing are available online.

KXAN has reached out to TCDA for comment regarding the office’s Friday statement and the response from the Byington family. We will update this story once we’ve received a response.

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