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

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."

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.

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