A Dallas County judge granted a mistrial Wednesday for a man accused of stalking and killing his romantic rival.
According to our partners at The Dallas Morning News, Judge Nancy Mulder told the paper on Wednesday she voluntarily recused herself from two pending cases against Jorge Esparza over comments she made Tuesday — the first day of his trial.
The paper reported Mulder was "caught on a courtroom livestream making disparaging remarks about the accused man’s guilt."
Mulder granted the mistrial about an hour after the defense filed the motion.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
Esparza has pleaded not guilty in the August 2020 shooting death of 27-year-old Ricardo Medina-Madriz.
Prosecutors said Esparza was obsessed with a woman he had previously had a sexual relationship with and then targeted her new love interest, Madriz. The woman and Madriz had gone on their first date on the night of his death. Esparza, prosecutors claim, then ambushed the unsuspecting victim.
Madriz was a registered nurse and was obtaining his master’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.
