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HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A judge has announced the decisions to deny former Harris County deputy Chauna Thompson and her husband Terry a change of venue for their cases.
The decision was given on Friday morning.
The Thompsons have been actively avoiding media attention -- attention they accuse others of seeking. It’s an accusation that the District Attorney's Office not only denies but discounts.
"It got a brief burst of publicity in 2017 but it has tailed off since then and we're confident that in a jurisdiction this large, a jury pool this large, that a fair and impartial jury can be empaneled," said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Scott Durfee.
There is no denying the case did get a lot of interest, but enough to justify moving it to another venue?
Johnny Hernandez and Terry Thompson got in a fight outside an east Harris County Denny's restaurant in May 2017. Terry put Hernandez in a chokehold while Chauna, an off-duty deputy, helped pin down Hernandez as bystanders begged them for mercy.
Hernandez later died. Much of the fight was caught on camera, something that the Thompsons' legal team say has tainted the jury pool against them. The attorneys said that news conferences and posts and links about the incident on the Harris County District Attorney's Office Facebook page fanned the flames.
The district attorney's office said they were merely meeting the public's need for information.
"These webpages are shared not as an endorsement but as an attempt to share professionally-gathered information," said HCDAO spokesman Dane Schiller. "If someone in the public want to know more, here's what the professionals are saying. Give a click."
Activists have also helped fan the flames and have been following the case from day one, another reason to move it, according to the Thompson's lawyers. As for Hernandez's father? Through an interpreter, he said he's interested in pursuing justice, no matter where.
"He says it doesn't matter because they still will be there, not matter where the venue will be changed, but in talks with them, they hope it will be here because this is obviously important," said Ignacio Hernandez. "Johnny's not here to defend himself."
Chauna and Terry are being tried separately.