AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ A judge has dismissed murder charges against two men awaiting retrial in the 1991 slayings of four teens at an Austin yogurt shop.
A Travis County jury has already sent one of the men, Robert Springsteen, to death row after he was convicted of capital murder in the slayings. Another jury had sent Michael Scott to prison for life.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the convictions, saying Springsteen and Scott were unfairly denied the change to cross-examine each other. Both had implicated each other.
Retrials have been delayed after new DNA evidence taken from the victims revealed the presence of an unknown man.
Prosecutors had been told to be ready by Wednesday to commit themselves to a January trial. When they could not and asked for dismissal, state District Judge Mike Lynch complied.