TX TX - Debra Reiding, 18, Austin, 22 Jan 1979

[watergirl62]

Thanks a bunch @watergirl62 ! Much appreciated. Can I put you down on my notes as the person to "go to" for this case? TIA if you say yes!

I will always try to hunt down stuff for you when I see a request and I have the time to dig stuff up. I realize that's not 100% yes, but its the best I can do. Thanks for all you do, Niner.

 

[Niner]

@watergirl62 - hope all is good for you - healthy & social distancing stuff! All is well here!

Was wondering - if you have time if you could see if there is a next court date for Galvan?

TIA!

 

[watergirl62]

It's still scheduled for 6/15/20 at 9am.

Niner, are you still using the old emojis?!

 

[Niner]

It's still scheduled for 6/15/20 at 9am.

Niner, are you still using the old emojis?!

Okay on the date of trial.

Well - I believe the "old" emojis links are gone - just what we have here on the bar above. I use different smiley sites for the emojis - like this one:
12.500 animated smileys | emoticons | emoji

 

[watergirl62]

They look just like the old ones. Thanks, Niner. Stay healthy!

 

[Niner]

They look just like the old ones. Thanks, Niner. Stay healthy!

Yea, sort of! And you are welcome - and I plan on staying healthy!! You too!

 

[txngal]

Update: It looks like the trial won't be happening in June based on the order I'm sharing. It appears that they must turn over the evidence for DNA re-testing by July 31, 2020, which is after the June setting that has been discussed. There is also no longer a hearing date listed on the docket.

 

[Niner]

Thanks for the update @txngal !

 

[Niner]

Wondering IF there might be a new update in the court site @txngal ?

TIA!

here's some candy while you look!

 

[Niner]

@txngal - was wondering if there might be a court hearing yet. Or are they still being delayed because of COVID-19?

TIA! Candy in post #109 for you!

 

[txngal]

@Niner - I just looked and nothing has been updated on the docket since my last post! I've been keeping an eye on it!

Thanks!

 

[Niner]

Thank you (again!) for checking it out. I have trial starting on 6/15. Somehow I don't believe that is going to happen.

 

[Niner]

well - this is a bummer....

Travis County DA dismisses capital murder charge against 1979 cold case suspect


The Travis County district attorney's office has dismissed the capital murder charge against a suspect arrested in a cold case because of issues with their evidence, prosecutors said Friday.
[.....]
"We ran into many challenges that would hinder our ability to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore said Friday. "Cold cases are very difficult to prove when, as in this case, the memories of witnesses and the evidence collected from the crime scene are over 40 years old. We discovered that a key witness had passed away and that additional witnesses no longer had a good recollection of the events surrounding the 1979 murder."
[.....]
Galvan’s attorney, Amber Vazquez, said DNA evidence on Reiding’s bathrobe was linked to Galvan. The two had an affair, Vazquez said, and no other evidence tested by the state linked Galvan to the killing.

Vazquez said it was a "travesty of justice" for investigators to jail Galvan and have a news conference about his arrest based on that single piece of evidence.
[.....]
The case will remain open with the Austin Police Department’s cold case unit, Moore said.

 

[Jim_M]

well - this is a bummer....

Travis County DA dismisses capital murder charge against 1979 cold case suspect


The Travis County district attorney's office has dismissed the capital murder charge against a suspect arrested in a cold case because of issues with their evidence, prosecutors said Friday.
[.....]
"We ran into many challenges that would hinder our ability to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore said Friday. "Cold cases are very difficult to prove when, as in this case, the memories of witnesses and the evidence collected from the crime scene are over 40 years old. We discovered that a key witness had passed away and that additional witnesses no longer had a good recollection of the events surrounding the 1979 murder."
[.....]
Galvan’s attorney, Amber Vazquez, said DNA evidence on Reiding’s bathrobe was linked to Galvan. The two had an affair, Vazquez said, and no other evidence tested by the state linked Galvan to the killing.

Vazquez said it was a "travesty of justice" for investigators to jail Galvan and have a news conference about his arrest based on that single piece of evidence.
[.....]
The case will remain open with the Austin Police Department’s cold case unit, Moore said.

ITA Niner. Beyond a bummer. I can only hope the victim haunts his dreams. Ugh!

 

[Niner]

Get Access

Nov. 20, 2020
CHOTEAU — Rodney Wilt walked through snow and leaves at the cemetery in this community of 1,700 residents 50 miles west of Great Falls looking for the grave marker of his older sister, whose life was cut short in Texas.
[.....]
The simple inscription read: Debra Sue Reiding: 1960-1979.
[.....]
The old murder case involving the Montana newlyweds whose life in a new state ended in tragedy is being looked at anew by Amber Vazquez.

Vazquez is the attorney for Michael Galvan, the man who was once charged in Debra’s death but never tried when the charges were later dismissed.
[.....]
In May 2018, it seemed like the case could be headed toward a conclusion when a grand jury indicted Michael Galvan, a 64-year-old barber, for capital murder.
[......]
Austin police announced that Galvan’s DNA matched semen stains found on a robe that Reiding was wearing at the time of her death.

Galvan and Debra worked at the same Austin steak house — the Montana Mining Company.
[......]
But in June of this year, in an about-face, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges against Galvan pending further investigation.

Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore said at the time that a key witness had died and additional witnesses no longer had a good recollection of the events, according to a story in the Austin Statesman newspaper.

She also said new DNA test results needed to be further investigated.

Vazquez, Galvan’s attorney, said Debra and Galvan had an affair, and that no other evidence besides the DNA found on Debra’s robe was tested by the state linking him to the killing, according to the newspaper.

During her trip to Montana, Vazquez told the Tribune that she plans to submit new information about the case gathered by her investigative team to newly elected district attorney Jose Garza after he’s sworn in Jan. 1.

She’s hoping Garza uses the information to “take it to the next level and fill in the remaining holes” with new charges being filed against a different suspect she did not name.
[.....]
Many items at the scene were never tested, Vazquez said.

more in the article.

Her team began testing everything for DNA, she said, not just the robe that Debra was wearing at the time of her death, Vazquez said.

Today’s technology allows for better results, she said, “where you can really break down and exclude and include.”

 

[imstilla.grandma]

For some cases, such as the murder of Debra Sue Reiding, details are sparse:

“On Jan. 22, 1979, Robert Reiding arrived home from work and discovered the body of his wife, Debra, an 18-year-old female. He found her in bed, under the covers, with a pillow over her head. Since there was not a phone in their apartment, Robert went to a pay phone nearby and called the police.”

In a case like this, Sanders says that an investigator would first determine the “timelines and victim habits” before moving through the rest of the case.

“It can depend on what information is still available to the investigator. Every case is different,” Sanders said.

Austin Police Cold Case unit’s 170 cases stretch back to 1800s

Austin Police’s Cold Case unit has 170 open cases, according to APD Sgt. Matthew Sanders, who supervises four cold case detectives and two missing persons detectives.

www.kxan.com