Retrial of man accused in Lawrence woman’s murder will not move forward, DA says
Following a series of delays and one mistrial resulting from a hung jury, the top prosecutor of Douglas County has filed a motion to dismiss criminal charges against Rontarus Washington Jr., a man accused of killing his 19-year-old neighbor in her Lawrence apartment seven years ago.
Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez announced the decision in a statement Wednesday, saying the case has languished in the courts long enough to raise questions about the integrity of the criminal justice system itself. She said her conclusion was drawn after an extensive review of the case and came with “a heavy heart.”
“This is by no means an indictment of the many fine law enforcement officers, specifically of the Lawrence Police Department, who spent countless hours investigating this matter to exhaustion and who worked tirelessly to seek justice for Ms. (Justina Altamirano) Mosso,” said Valdez, who took office in January. “A particular legal maxim holds true here: Justice delayed is justice denied.”
The long-running case dates back to Nov. 9, 2014, when Mosso was found beaten to death in her home. Investigators focused on Washington, who lived down the hall from the victim.
Washington maintained his innocence. Four years after his arrest, he was first tried in Douglas County District Court over four weeks, which ended in September 2019 after the jury was unable to return a verdict.
Washington’s defense team has said he had no motive for bludgeoning his neighbor to death and alleged that Mosso’s estranged husband Felipe Cantu Ruiz was the real killer. Ruiz was also a key witness in Washington’s trial.
Much of his testimony focused on the tumultuous relationship between himself and Mosso.
Washington, who is Black, received national attention and his case became a rallying cry for protesters in Lawrence calling for an end to racial injustices in the criminal justice system.
After the mistrial, Washington remained jailed until a judge reduced his bond to $500,000 from $750,000. Money to pay for his release was raised by local activists and businesses, setting him free for the first time after more than five years in jail.
Other concerns have been raised about the case in the months since Valdez took the helm. In March, Valdez sent a letter to a Douglas County judge saying she had only recently learned that Ruiz, Mosso’s estranged husband, had been a suspect in an unsolved sexual assault case from 2017.
The Washington case also became a flashpoint in the most recent Douglas County district attorney’s race. Charles Branson, the county’s former district attorney, lost reelection in 2020 while facing Valdez and another Democratic challenger.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 6:34 PM.
