A Nueces County jury went home Friday. There was no verdict. For the second time this year, a judge stopped the murder trial of Oscar Uribe Jr.

Judge Susan Barclay of the 117th District Court called the mistrial on Friday, Sept. 25. The court had trouble getting key witnesses on the stand.

Oscar Uribe is accused in the 2020 killing of Benjamin Resendez. Resendez was 21. Oscar Uribe faces two murder charges. He also faces a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity. The state files that charge when it says a group worked together on a crime.

So what is a mistrial? It means the trial ends early. The jury never gets to say guilty or not guilty. It is not a win for either side. Oscar Uribe is not cleared. He is not convicted. The case just has no answer yet.

This has happened before. The first trial ended in a mistrial in April. That time, there were problems tied to what one witness had to say. The state then started over with a new jury. The second trial began this month. Now it has ended the same way.

The witness trouble showed up by midweek. The state said it could not reach Sgt. Timothy Rivas. Rivas was the first lawman to work the case. Prosecutors said he is battling terminal cancer.

Rivas was set to testify Wednesday. The state asked to use what he said under oath in the past. The defense said no to that.

The state then turned to Lucas Martinez as a possible witness. Martinez is also charged in the case. Before he could take the stand, the court had to sort out questions about his legal rights. His lawyer was part of that talk.

By Friday, the trial was over. Public accounts of the ruling point to trouble with key witnesses. They do not say if one witness mattered more than the rest.

When a key witness can't testify, the state has to find another way to get that proof to the jury. The defense can fight that. That fight played out in this court.

Resendez's family last heard from him on July 5, 2020. Cops say he left a Calallen apartment that day with Alfredo Uribe Jr. Alfredo is Oscar Uribe's nephew. The family reported Resendez missing in early July.

At the start of the new trial on Sept. 22, the state told jurors more. They said Resendez had known Alfredo for years. They said he had been at a Fourth of July get-together at Alfredo's family ranch. They said his sister would testify that he left with Alfredo and a man she did not know. His family never saw him again.

Later that month, Nueces County deputies and Texas Rangers searched a property off FM 666. They found human remains. The remains went to a state crime lab. Techs there would test them.

Court records show the cops believe Resendez was killed early on July 5. They say his body was cut apart and burned to hide it.

Oscar Uribe and Alfredo were arrested in late July 2020. Oscar Uribe was 45 at the time. Alfredo was 20.

In court this month, the state said three men acted together. They named Oscar Uribe, Alfredo and Martinez. They said Alfredo had the motive. One prosecutor told the jury:

"I expect you'll hear in this trial a lot about Alfredo, because Alfredo is the one with the motive, and he's likely the one who actually pulled that trigger."

Martinez was arrested in April 2026. He is charged with murder in Resendez's death. In May, Judge Barclay said no to his lawyer's request to lower his $1.5 million bond. At that time, Oscar Uribe and Alfredo were also being held in the Nueces County Jail on murder charges.

So what happens now? As of Sunday, no date for a third trial had been made public. It is not yet known if the state will try Oscar Uribe a third time.

Alfredo and Martinez still face charges in the case. For the Resendez family, the wait goes on. Two trials have now ended with no verdict.

The charges against all three men are just claims for now. None of them has been found guilty.

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.