Man Who Murdered KLAQ DJ Rick Madrigal To Be Retried

KLAQ DJ Rick "Mardi Gras" Madrigal was found shot to death in his west El Paso apartment in June of 2016.

The incident was apparently the result of jealousy over a woman. She witnessed the murder following which, the killer and her checked into a hotel and then went out to a bar together.

She appeared in a number of photos taken with strangers at a bar after the murder. Charges against her for not calling the police were dropped in exchange for her testimony.

An appeal to have the case retried on the basis of "expert testimony not allowed" was accepted, despite the El Paso DA's office attempts to stop it, and now a new trial date is being arranged.

In January, the 8th Court of Appeals issued a denial of the D.A.'s motion, therefore upholding its ruling to overturn Hernandez's conviction.

Hernandez has been in prison on a 50-year sentence since he was found guilty nearly five years ago, in March 2019.

District Attorney Bill Hicks said in response to the ruling, "The error that was found doesn't affect our ability to retry the case ... We feel very strongly with the facts of the case and the guilt of person who was charged -- and we will proceed as soon as the 168th District Court is able to schedule it." - KVIA

Once the new trial date is accepted and confirmed, I'll post the info here along with any other new details.