A Bexar County jury needed only about three hours to find 15-year-old Patricia Ennis not guilty of murdering her 53-year-old stepfather, Ray Alan Hardy Jr., closing out a case that had put a certified-as-adult teenager on trial for her life. Ennis was 14 when she was charged in the December 2024 killing, and prosecutors said she faced up to life in prison if convicted.
A Fatal Encounter on Stutts Drive
Hardy was fatally stabbed at a home on Stutts Drive in East San Antonio, according to KENS 5. Ennis's defense argued self-defense throughout the trial, telling jurors she felt she was in danger and was trying to protect herself from abuse, as reported by KSAT. Ennis herself said she could not return to the house and risk getting hurt again, per the same report.
Because Ennis was certified as an adult for the murder charge, she was tried through the adult criminal court process rather than the juvenile system, KSAT notes. That certification meant prosecutors had to prove she understood what she was doing and that she met the required age threshold for transfer, while also showing that probation could not provide appropriate services. The station's report explains that adult-court conviction can result in sentencing through the adult criminal justice system, which is why the stakes for Ennis were so high going into deliberations.
Freed of Murder, But Not of Custody
Despite the acquittal, Ennis was not immediately released. She remained in custody on a separate charge of assault of a public servant, allegedly committed while she was detained awaiting trial, according to KSAT’s coverage of the verdict. The article notes that Ennis faces no other criminal charges beyond that pending matter. Court records reviewed by KENS 5 previously showed her bond had been set at $250,000 after her transfer to adult court in 2025, while she remained held at the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center because of her age.
That arrangement reflects a quirk of Texas law: certified juveniles awaiting trial must be kept separate from adult inmates and, where practicable, from non-certified children in juvenile facilities, according to the Texas Family Code as cited by FindLaw. During an October 2025 court appearance, Juvenile District Court Judge William “Cruz” Shaw admonished Ennis after she admitted to a behavioral infraction while in juvenile detention, warning her that similar infractions in adult facilities carry far harsher consequences, KENS 5 reported at the time.
How Certification to Adult Court Works
Judge Shaw, who oversaw pretrial proceedings, said juvenile certification is not common and that waiving juvenile-court jurisdiction makes a case entirely adult, according to KSAT. He noted that young offenders sent to adult prisons can still be housed separately from the general adult population, since those facilities maintain small sections specifically for children. Shaw added that the community should pay attention to serious juvenile cases because the defendants remain young people, and he said community members should stay engaged with how these cases unfold.
Texas law sets minimum certification ages based on the severity of the alleged offense. Under Texas Family Code Section 54.02, 14 is the lowest age at which a juvenile can be certified as an adult, and that threshold is reserved for capital murder, first-degree felonies, or aggravated drug offenses, according to the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. The law allows certification beginning at age 15 for certain second-degree felony offenses, widening the range of crimes eligible for adult transfer once a minor turns 15. Before any transfer can happen, state law requires courts to order a complete diagnostic study, social evaluation, and investigation of the child and the circumstances of the offense, a mandatory safeguard that can trigger an appellate reversal if skipped.
A Rising Local Trend
Shaw has previously flagged a broader pattern behind cases like Ennis's. In June 2024, he reported a 32 percent increase in juvenile felony aggravated assault cases during the first quarter of that year, alongside a rise in high-profile juvenile cases resulting in adult certification, per KSAT's earlier reporting. Domestic violence context also loomed over the trial: Bexar County recorded 27 domestic violence homicides in 2022, among the highest totals for family violence fatalities in Texas, according to the Bexar County Commissioners Court.
The consequences of an adult-court conviction in Bexar County can be severe. In August 2024, a defendant convicted in adult court in a child death case was sentenced to life in prison, KSAT reported at the time, illustrating the maximum penalties juveniles certified as adults can face if convicted. Ennis, having been acquitted of murder, avoided that outcome, but her continued detention on the assault of a public servant charge means her case is not yet fully resolved.
