An Indiana judge dismissed a murder trial in the prosecutor’s office due to a “staffing crisis.” The victim’s family is still waiting for justice 20 years after the murder.
Kevin Maddox, accused of fatally shooting 20-year-old Chad Rouse during a failed robbery in 2006, was released from prison after Howard County Superior Court William Menges suddenly dismissed the case, due to kick-off Tuesday.
Menges’ order cited the Howard County Prosecutor’s Office’s busy trial schedule, “a staffing crisis,” and the fact that “pretrial movements were put on strain on the eve of trial.”
The issue of staffing for prosecutors “imposing their ability to properly prepare for consecutive scheduled major ju trials,” the order said.
Maddox’s lawsuit was dismissed “without bias.” This means that the prosecutor’s office can bring it again at a later point, but for the time being, the family members must continue to wait for justice. According to FOX59.
Maddox was charged with Amber Brigham in the fatal shooting of Chad Rouse on November 15, 2006. Rouse gets caught up in a fight with an intruder and is shot in the back, but the attacker’s identity is a mystery, and the case was cold until February 2023.
Maddox, 48, of Indianapolis, and Amber Brigham, 36, of Kokomo, were charged in May 2023 in a case that Brigham faces murder, robbery and conspiracy charges and conspiracy charges.
“It was 16 and a half years,” Chad’s mother, Athena, said in 2023. “I missed a lot of good times with him.”
Athena said she gave up hope that her son’s assailant would go to trial and feared that she would believe it could actually be true.
Brigham’s case was scheduled to go to trial in January, but was pushed back several times before he was eventually fired by Judge Blake Dahl on April 7th.
Her case was also dismissed without prejudice, leaving the door open to help prosecutors get it back one day. However, the judge did not explain anything about the dismissal.
The Howard County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
