Jury finds APD officer guilty in 2019 deadly shooting, another officer awaiting trial

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A jury found Austin Police Officer Christopher Taylor guilty of deadly conduct Saturday in the 2019 police shooting of Mauris DeSilva, and another officer charged in that same shooting is still awaiting trial.

In 2021, both Taylor and Officer Karl Krycia were indicted for murder and deadly conduct in the case. The week before Taylor's trial, the Travis County District Attorney's Office dropped the murder charge.

According to online court records, Krycia's murder charges remain. He has a hearing set for Oct. 29.

KXAN has, since Saturday, asked the Travis County District Attorney's Office about any strategy related to this -- why the cases are being tried separately, whether Krycia's murder charges will remain following Taylor's guilty verdict and how the actual evidence portion of Krycia's trial would differ from Taylor's. The office could not comment at this time.

KXAN has also reached out to Krycia's attorney and will update this story if we receive a response.

The case of Mauris DeSilva

On July 31, 2019, multiple people called 911 reporting Mauris DeSilva, 46, was walking around his downtown condo complex with a knife to his throat. One caller requested a mental health officer.

When police arrived, surveillance video showed DeSilva on the fifth floor of his downtown condo complex in a common area near the pool and gym, holding the knife to his throat. During Taylor's trial, multiple officers said this behavior from DeSilva was a danger not only to himself, but to others, and they believed they needed to confront him as soon as possible.

When they did confront him, four officers -- including Taylor and Krycia -- were in the elevator, and DeSilva was right outside the elevator across a narrow hallway, looking into a mirror holding the knife to his neck. Officers gave commands and DeSilva had started to bring the knife to his side, per body camera footage, and Taylor and Krycia fired their guns. Another officer fired a Taser, and another did not have any weapons in his hands, according to police testimony.

Taylor's attorneys called this a clear case of self defense, and the circumstances in the moment indicated DeSilva posed a threat to the officers. They have not yet commented publicly following Saturday's verdict.

In a statement, Brad Vinson, one of the attorneys who represented the DeSilva family in a civil suit, said "he should have been confronted, he should have been cared for, he should not have been killed... My client and his family are and always will be devastated by the loss of their son, but this verdict is the first step in getting them the justice that they deserve."