Trial of man accused of killing state attorney in home invasion delayed until 2023

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The capital murder trial of a man accused of killing a state attorney and wounding her husband is delayed until next year.

Joseph Alvarez's trial was supposed to begin on Friday, Nov. 4. He is charged with shooting Georgette Kaufmann on Nov. 14, 2020.

Police say Alvarez shot Kaufmann in her garage as she arrived home that evening. Officials say he then shot her husband, who was in their house on Copper Avenue near Memorial Park in Central El Paso.

Kaufmann worked in the state attorney general's office and had deep ties in the El Paso legal community.

Police arrested Alvarez nearly a year after the deadly shooting.

Police say they linked Alvarez to the murder through geo-tracking on his phone. Investigators say they also found a diatribe in the suspect's email. The email described enacting violence on residents living near the park.

Both the defense and prosecution agreed to ask the judge to push back the trial.

The defense attorney said he had not been able to review all the case evidence through the district attorney's office.

The prosecutor said there was some red tape in allowing access to the files.

The judge rescheduled the trial for March 23, 2023.