For the first time, we’re hearing from the toddler’s family at the center of the “shaken baby” case. The death penalty execution of Robert Roberson remains on hold as advocates and lawmakers fight for an acquittal in the 2002 death of two-year-old Nikki Curtis. Now, Nikki’s biological half-brother is breaking his silence – describing what his family has endured for the past twenty years. In Palestine, Texas, people go on about their daily lives of school, work, and play. However, Matthew Bowman tells NBC 5 he feels stuck, unable to move past what happened 20 years ago. “All the stuff that we’ve gotten out of the storage building that we put off five years ten years ago now, we’re having to dig through it,” said Bowman. He’s never left Palestine, even with all its painful memories. He’s the older brother of Nikki Curtis, the toddler at the center of what’s now known as the ‘shaken baby’ case. “It’s been very difficult. We’ve never stopped living this. It’s been something that’s been brought up since 2002 all the way until now,” Bowman said. “My family feels like it’s something they never could let go.” Death row inmate Robert Roberson was…

House members were successful in halting the execution of Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson III. The Supreme Court of Texas granted a stay late Thursday night. “We are deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas legislature in such consequential matters. We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol, and long with 31 million Texans, finally giving him — and the truth — a chance to be heard,” Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee chairmen Joe Moody and Jeff Leach said in a joint statement Thursday night. Roberson was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at about 6 p.m. Thursday, for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter. The state’s legal fight to get the execution carried out faced a midnight CDT deadline when the death warrant authorizing Roberson’s execution expired. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said late Thursday night that Roberson will be moved back to the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas. “I had the opportunity to go back there to speak with him, and he was shocked to say the least. He praised God, to thank his supporters,” said Amanda Hernandez with the TDCJ. Roberson was convicted…

The Texas Historical Commission has partnered with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and will bring the institute’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program to Clifton this fall. Clifton, located approximately 35 miles northwest of Waco, is the second of seven stops in Texas for the traveling exhibit. It will host the program from Oct. 12 to Dec. 1. The exhibit is currently on display in San Augustine. The Texas Historical Commission selected Clifton and six other towns in the state to host the MoMS, which brings exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. The traveling exhibit tour usually last about 10 months, stopping at seven communities all across the state for six weeks each. The MoMS exhibits are normally around 500 to 800 square feet in size and include interactive components as well as audio and video experiences. Each exhibit covers a single topic of broad national interest and is designed to engage a wide range of communities and capture the feel of life in small towns in America. The exhibit, “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” will be housed at the Bosque Museum, 301 S. Avenue Q, in Clifton.It will be open from 10 a.m. to…

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck near the Midland-Odessa Metropolitan area Monday evening, briefly rattling parts of North Texas. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake happened in Martin County at 7:49 p.m., about 21 miles southwest of Ackerly, Texas. USGS map shows the location of the West Texas earthquake on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The USGS initially reported the earthquake as a 4.8 magnitude with a depth of 4.8 kilometers. It later upgraded the magnitude to 5.1 with a depth of 8.4 kilometers. According to the Lubbock Avalanche Journal, Monday’s earthquake was the seventh strongest quake in Texas history. Residents in Lamesa said their homes were shaking for five to 10 seconds when the earthquake hit. Residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex also reported feeling the tremor. The U.S. National Weather Service, Midland, Texas, shared on social media that its personnel felt the earthquake at their office. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office told NBC 5 they have not received any structural damage or injury reports. Check back and refresh this page for the latest update. As developments unfold, elements of this story may change. Courtesy of Texas News – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth …

On Friday afternoon, Secretary of State Jane Nelson released 2021-22 election audits for four Texas counties, finding several failures and improved procedures but no evidence of widespread voter fraud. In 2021, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 1 to “detect and punish fraud” following unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The law requires the Secretary of State’s office to audit elections in four randomly selected Texas counties for the preceding two years after the most recent November uniform election occurring in an even-numbered year. A drawing is held to randomly choose two counties whose populations are over 300,000 and two that are under 300,000. “Texas’ audit process provides accountability and insight into how elections are conducted on a county level to ensure the integrity of our elections,” said Secretary Nelson. “While each audit is specific to a county, they include lessons for election officials across the state and offer voters the reassurance that our state’s election processes are thoroughly reviewed.” On July 28, 2022, the Secretary of State’s Office held the drawing to audit the 2021-2022 election period. The counties of Cameron, Eastland, Guadalupe, and Harris were selected. Below are the highlights of the audit’s findings,…