In a recent development concerning a 2020 Pflugerville incident, 34-year-old Kendric Knatte has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after entering a guilty plea to a third-degree felony charge of tampering with evidence on August 5. As reported by KXAN, this plea deal comes in connection with a shooting that resulted in the death of 32-year-old Frankia Mathurin at an apartment complex on May 26, 2020. Knatte also received a concurrent sentence of five years for the manslaughter charge and was credited with 1,009 days of jail time already served.
Before the plea deal, a jury deliberated the murder charges against Knatte but was unable to reach a verdict, resulting in a declaration of a deadlock late Friday afternoon, as Austin American-Statesman details. The incident in question erupted from a complicated history, including a reported affair between Knatte and Mathurin and an escalation of threatening text messages leading up to the fatal encounter. Despite the lack of a murder conviction, Knatte's acknowledgment of tampering with evidence linked him conclusively with the events of that day.
The case, which has brought a series of intense and conflicting narratives to the fore, featured Knatte claiming self-defense during the trial. His defense portrayed Mathurin as not only threatening but also armed and under the influence of multiple substances, a claim supported by Geoffrey Puryear, Knatte's defense attorney. Puryear argued in court that the evidence "overwhelmingly" demonstrated Knatte's actions were justified—the claim being that Mathurin had been the aggressor, armed with a gun and sending menacing communications.
Contrasting this narrative, the prosecution, as noted by the Austin American-Statesman, emphasized that Knatte could have chosen to disengage from the encounter by calling 911 rather than meeting the situation with gunfire. In her closing arguments, prosecuting attorney Erika Hansen stressed that by responding to Mathurin and opening his door, Knatte was "engaging" in the conflict, thereby undermining his self-defense claim. Hansen highlighted Knatte's incendiary responses to Mathurin's threats as further evidence against his argument.
In light of the hung jury, it remains uncertain whether the Travis County district attorney's office intends to retry Knatte for murder. Regardless, Knatte is set to begin his 10-year sentence for the tampering with evidence charge, a decision that has been made clear amidst the ongoing complexities and contentions of this case.
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