Looking Back: The Uriah Urick Trial

Back in November, we covered the capital murder trial of Uriah Urick in Galveston County, Texas. Two teenagers accused of killing 61-year-old Tammy King, who was Tara King's grandmother. They allegedly shot her in her own bed, ransacked the house for guns and cash, and fled toward the Mexican border before U.S. Marshals caught up with them in Laredo.

We covered the trial. We streamed it. We broke it down. But we never finished the podcast segments.

Life gets in the way sometimes. Other trials demanded attention. The content machine keeps moving, and some things fall through the cracks. That's the reality of running a channel like this solo. I'm not going to pretend otherwise.

But the Urick case deserves its full treatment. So we're going back.

What Made This Case Matter

This wasn't just another murder trial. This was a case about two teenagers who prosecutors say planned the killing for months, exchanging Instagram messages about how to "get rid of" Tammy. Messages like "Please let me kill her. Let me do it today. Can I shoot her tomorrow?" And the response: "I won't do it without your permission."

The prosecution painted a picture of obsession, isolation, and cold calculation. Friends testified that Uriah had become possessive, pulling Tara away from everyone else until she only spoke to him. Tammy King was the obstacle standing between them and their "happily ever after," as they allegedly called it in their messages.

What struck me about this case was the surveillance footage. The neighbor's camera captured two figures moving through Tammy's backyard with trash bags, then a black car backing into the driveway to pick them up. The timestamp was off by an hour, but the content was damning. They didn't know anyone was recording.

The Trial Itself

Uriah Urick was convicted of capital murder. At 18, he faced life without parole. The jury saw the Instagram messages. They heard from witnesses who gave the couple rides, who housed them while they were on the run, who watched them dye their hair and grow increasingly paranoid. They heard from Travis Hodge, the man who drove them to Laredo and ended up with what prosecutors say was the murder weapon.

The ballistics matched. The shell casing under Tammy's bed and the projectile found in her body both came back to that AR-556 that Uriah handed to Hodge with the words, "There's a body on one of these."

Tara King's case is separate. She was 17 at the time, which means different rules apply. That trial is still ahead.

Why We're Going Back

The video coverage exists. It's on the channel. But the deeper analysis, the breakdown of what this case teaches us about the system, about party liability, about how two young people end up charged with capital murder, that work was left unfinished.

I owe it to the audience who followed this case with us. I owe it to Tammy King, whose death deserves to be understood, not just watched. And I owe it to the mission of this channel: to educate, to explain, to ensure that when the system operates, we're watching.

So consider this the start of catching up. We'll be revisiting key moments from the Urick trial, providing the analysis we should have completed in November. The footage is there. The transcripts are there. Now we finish the job.

▶️ WATCH NOW Neighbor's Security Camera Footage | TX v. Uriah Urick

The presumption of innocence applied to Uriah Urick throughout his trial. The jury made their decision. Now we examine how they got there, and what it means for how our system handles cases like this.

More to come.