A sentence of life ordered by a Bowie County jury for a man who shot and killed his estranged wife's boyfriend on Mother's Day 2014 was upheld by a Texarkana-based appellate court in an opinion handed down Wednesday.
Wednesday, the 6th District Court of Appeals headquartered in Texarkana affirmed the jury's verdict and rejected Friend's arguments for a new punishment trial. At the March 2015 jury trial, witnesses testified that Friend was distraught that his estranged wife, Traci Friend, was seeing another man, Larry Gray Jr.
Traci Friend and Gray made a quick trip to the store, leaving Traci Friend's four children at home. The children included Austin Friend's and Traci Friend's daughter, who was 10 at the time of the trial, and Traci Friend's three sons, who were 15, 14 and 12 at the time of trial.
While Traci Friend and Gray were at the store, Austin Friend entered Traci Friend's trailer armed with his mother's pink and silver handgun. He held the children in a bedroom and spoke of killing himself, their mother and Gray.
Shortly after Traci Friend and Gray returned, Austin Friend fired multiple shots, one of which tore through a major artery in Gray's heart, killing him quickly.
On appeal, Austin Friend argued that he should have been allowed to testify that Gray, with whom he had once been friends, once told him on a fishing trip that he wouldn't take "lip" from women and would "put his hands on" a woman. The state objected at trial, arguing that the statement is hearsay, which can't be refuted because the man who allegedly said it had been killed.
Austin Friend was not allowed by 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart to testify as to what he claims Gray actually said to him but was permitted to testify about how he believes Gray treats women generally. The higher court ruled that Lockhart's compromise was fair and constitutes no ground for a new punishment trial.
Austin Friend's appeal complained as well that he was not permitted to present evidence about Gray's history of drug use. The higher court ruled that the argument wasn't properly made at the trial level and therefore could not be argued on appeal.
At trial, Friend's defense team asked for a mistrial when a child witness took the stand holding a doll. The defense argued that the presence of the doll would create sympathy for the young witness and prejudice against him. Texas law allows children to have a "comfort doll" while testifying if a hearing to determine if certain criteria are met is held before the child testifies and outside the jury's presence.
The appellate opinion notes that Friend's trial counsel could have asked for a less drastic measure, such as conducting the hearing, than a mistrial. The opinion notes that the child could have been instructed to hold the doll in such a way it could not be seen by the jury or the doll could have been removed while the child testified.
Austin Friend is currently being housed at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Connally Unit in Kenedy, Texas. According to TDCJ's website, he will become eligible for parole May 12, 2044.