Horn's murder suspect to stand trial next year
A Brownsville man will stand trial in January on a capital murder charge for the slaying of Barry T. Horn, the late executive director of the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art.
On Thursday, 404th state District Court Judge Elia Cornejo Lopez set Jan. 17 as the date for jury selection in the case of Ernesto Ivan Martinez.
Martinez, 20, is accused of fatally stabbing Horn, 59, at least 77 times times in October of last year. Horn was found dead in his apartment by a coworker the morning of an important benefit gala for the museum.
His trial date relied on when the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office could retrieve forensic evidence from a crime lab in time to prosecute the case, authorities said. In court Thursday, Lopez asked prosecutor Pete Gilman if he had received the lab work.
“I’ve got everything I need and more to get a conviction,” he said. “Whenever the court is ready to hear it, we are ready to proceed with the trial.”
But Marinez’s counsel, defense attorney Al Padilla, needed more time to gather witnesses for the case, and attorneys agreed to pushing back the date. Martinez also consented.
During his arraignment in February, the man plead not guilty to commiting the crime. But in video statements to police he admits to stabbing the museum director, claiming he was drunk and angry because Horn had “raped” him two weeks prior. Martinez said he was coerced into providing the statements.
Brownsville police have portrayed Martinez as Horn’s former partner, although friends have refuted the claims saying the relationship was strictly paternal.
Described by friends and colleagues as one of the cultural pillars of Brownsville, Horn came to the position at the museum in January 2009 after more than two decades of varied professional experience, including working as one of the hosts of "Good Morning Houston" and later executive director of the South Texas Symphony Association Inc.
julloa@brownsvilleherald.com
