The Law&Crime Network is tracking the following cases this week. You can watch trials live on our website and on the Law&Crime Network YouTube page.
NV v Thomas Randolph
Thomas Randolph (AP News)
Thomas Randolph — dubbed the “black widower” — is scheduled to head back into a Nevada courtroom this week for his murder retrial. He’s accused of murdering of his sixth wife, Sharon Causse, and the hitman he allegedly hired to kill her, Michael Miller, in 2008.
Randolph was sentenced for the brutal killings in 2017, but after his conviction was overturned in 2021 due to the court using “prior bad-act evidence,” he was granted a new trial.
The black widower is scheduled for a motion hearing Monday before the retrial starts. Jury selection is expected Tuesday and opening statements will likely begin Wednesday.
GA v Austin Ford
Austin Ford (Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office)
Austin Ford is accused of shooting and killing 18-year-old Tori Lang in July 2021. Lang’s body was found at a park in Gwinnett County, Georgia — her car had been set on fire and dumped inside a nature preserve.
Ford went to trial for the crime in April, but a judge declared a mistrial after a jury was deadlocked on a verdict regarding the felony murder and aggravated assault charges. A medical examiner could not determine whether or not the death was a suicide or homicide.
Tori Lang
Ford claimed Lang wanted to kill herself — so out of concern, he went to the park with her the day she died. While together at the park, he allegedly wrestled a gun from her, and once het got it, he went to hug Lang goodbye. That’s when she allegedly grabbed the gun back from him and shot herself.
Ford allegedly freaked out, took the gun, and took off. He told investigators he had no idea how Lang’s car caught on fire.
Opening statements in Ford’s retrial are expected late Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.
IA v Henry Dinkins
Henry Dinkins
A convicted sex offender accused of killing 10-year-old Breasia Terrell heads to trial this week. Henry Dinkins is accused of kidnapping and shooting Terrell in July 2020.
The young girl’s remains weren’t discovered until March 2021.
Breasia Terrell
One of the state’s key witnesses — a man named Jared Brink — died in June 2023. The state fears without his testimony — which allegedly would have explained he pulled Dinkins out of the mud where Terrell’s body was located — their case could be impacted.
Opening statements are expected to begin Thursday. The trial is scheduled to take five weeks.
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