Walmart shooting prosecutors withheld evidence favorable to suspect, defense alleges in new motion
By Robert Moore
October 1, 2024
Prosecutors in the Walmart mass shooting case failed to turn over evidence to the defense team that might be beneficial to the accused gunman in his upcoming trial, his lawyers said in a new motion.
Defense lawyers said prosecutors obtained the information in interviews in 2023 with two neighbors of the family of Patrick Crusius, now 26, who is accused of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon stemming from the Aug. 3, 2019, racist-inspired attack at the Cielo Vista Walmart that killed 23 people and wounded 22 others.
The neighbors in Allen, Texas, said Crusius had shown signs of intellectual development disabilities and mental health issues since his childhood, the motion filed Monday alleges. The prosecutors have not turned over notes from investigators from those interviews, the motion stated.
“Counsel for Mr. Crusius have recently learned, pursuant to their own investigation, that the state obtained mitigating information from multiple witnesses and has failed to turn that information over to the defense, despite having years to do so,” according to the defense motion.
District Attorney Bill Hicks said his office was reviewing new motions filed in the case Monday and couldn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from El Paso Matters.
An Oct. 3, 2023, order from 409th District Judge Sam Medrano ordered prosecutors to provide the defense “all exculpatory or mitigating evidence known to the State … which the State or its agents have in their possession.” Such orders are standard in criminal cases.
The defense motion said three people from the District Attorney’s Office interviewed John Litwin, a former neighbor of the Crusius family in Allen, which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The interview took place at Litwin’s home on Nov. 8, 2023.
Litwin allegedly told prosecutors that he met Crusius as a young child and found him “different.” As a 3-year-old, Crusius banged his head on the sidewalk on multiple occasions, and his father didn’t seem concerned, the motion stated.
Crusius struggled in social interactions, Litwin allegedly said. He told investigators he believed it was likely that Crusius was mentally ill, and that neighbors believed he had autism.
The interview lasted 40 minutes and the district attorney “employees left Litwin’s house rather abruptly,” the motion said.
“Litwin got the sense that they may have left because they were frustrated that he had not given them the answers they were hoping for,” the motion said, adding that Litwin told investigators “that it was hard for him to believe that, given Mr. Crusius’ deficits, Mr. Crusius could have committed the crimes charged in this case in his right mind.”
Crusius pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal hate crimes and weapons charges, after federal prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty. He was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences, with no possibility for parole.
The U.S. Justice Department has declined to explain why it didn’t seek the death penalty, but federal prosecutors have hinted that Crusius’ mental health played a role. Both defense lawyers and federal prosecutors said that Crusius was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a condition that features psychosis and mood disorders.
The new defense motion also cited an Aug. 17, 2023, interview with Karen Kurth, identified as a former neighbor and special education assistant to Crusius. She said Crusius was “not right” from birth.
The motion said prosecutors turned over “aggravating information” – or information favorable to the state – from the interview with Kurth, but not “mitigating information,” which could be favorable to the defense.
The motion alleges that prosecutors violated Medrano’s discovery order and state law by failing to turn over mitigating evidence from the interviews with Litwin and Kurth. It asks Medrano to order the prosecution to turn over any mitigating evidence not yet produced.
The motion also asks Medrano to issue sanctions against the prosecutors, but doesn’t make a specific request other than urging “a sanction that punishes the State’s conduct and deters it from violating” court orders, state law and the U.S. Constitution going forward.
Defense lawyers filed four other motions late Monday, largely reiterating claims made in a Sept. 9 motion asking Medrano to provide them with access to additional materials held by prosecutors. That motion alleged that prosecutors improperly obtained information such as recordings of phone calls between Crusius and his attorneys, and records of jail visits with Crusius of defense lawyers and psychology professionals.
The Sept. 9 motion said defense lawyers may ask Medrano to dismiss the charges against Crusius or prohibit prosecutors from seeking the death penalty. At a Sept. 12 hearing, Hicks denied any wrongdoing by his office.
Medrano has set an Oct. 31 hearing on the defense allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. He also has scheduled a series of hearings in 2025 that could lead to a trial in 2026.
