SAN ANTONIO ā Moments before jury selection was to begin Tuesday, a man charged with abusing his child in 2018 had his case dismissed because of a missing witness.
Rick Artis wasnāt indicted on the injury to a child case until Feb. 24, 2020, a few days after the toddler died in a separate incident.
In 2020, KSAT reported that 17-month old Lyriq Ogilvie Artis was found unresponsive in a home in the 6700 block of Brothers Lane. At the time, the Bexar County Medical Examinerās Office didnāt reveal Lyriqās cause of death. But on Tuesday, the MEās Office told KSAT the cause of death was āremote blunt head traumaā and ruled a homicide.
Artis was questioned but never formally charged or said to have been involved in the childās death.
According to the 2018 indictment, Artis was accused of striking Lyriq, not properly restraining him in a motor vehicle and failing to seek medical care for his injuries.
While the jury panel waited in the hallways Tuesday to begin selection for Artisā trial, the state asked for a trial reset because the CPS caseworker in the case wasnāt available for testimony.
227th District Court Judge Christine Del Prado denied the request for the reset, saying the state knew about the trial date since May and it was noted during the last hearing that there wouldnāt be anymore resets.
Later, the state asked for a dismissal in the case because of the missing witness.
Artis had his GPS monitor removed Tuesday and is no longer facing any charges.
KSAT reached out to the District Attorneyās Office to see if they will be re-indicting Artis in the 2018 case but havenāt heard back.
KSAT also spoke to a spokesperson from the Bexar County Sheriffās Office to see what happened in Lyriqās death investigation. We are still awaiting to hear back as well.