A murder or homicide allegation is the most consequential charge a person can face in Texas, both because of the potential punishment and because the prosecution will deploy resources from day one — homicide detectives, forensic teams, expert witnesses, the district attorney’s most experienced trial lawyers. The defense response has to begin just as quickly. Kent Starr has spent thirty years defending serious felonies in North Texas and is available around the clock for emergency arrests, bond hearings, and the early-stage decisions that often shape the rest of a homicide case.
Texas treats homicide as a graduated set of offenses under the Penal Code. Capital murder, defined in Section 19.03, includes killings committed during the course of certain felonies, the murder of a peace officer or firefighter, multiple murders, and several other narrow categories — punishable by life without parole or, in cases where the State seeks it, the death penalty. Murder under Section 19.02 is a first-degree felony, with a punishment range of five to ninety-nine years or life. Manslaughter, defined in Section 19.04, applies to reckless killings and is a second-degree felony. Criminally negligent homicide, Section 19.05, is a state jail felony reserved for deaths caused by criminal negligence rather than recklessness or intent. The line between these offenses turns on culpable mental state, and that line is often where the case is won or lost. A “murder” indictment is not a fixed verdict — through investigation, expert work, and trial preparation it can sometimes be reduced to manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, or self-defense.
Defense strategy in a homicide case begins with the autopsy and the scene reconstruction, not the courtroom. Texas allows robust self-defense and defense-of-third-person claims under Chapter 9 of the Penal Code, including the “stand your ground” provisions in Section 9.32. In domestic incidents, the line between domestic violence allegations and a homicide indictment can shift on the credibility of a single witness or the timing of a 911 call. Mental-state defenses — sudden passion, mistake of fact, intoxication-related diminished culpability — require expert testimony and careful pretrial motion work. Suppression of statements made during interrogation, particularly statements made before clear Miranda warnings or after a suspect invoked counsel, can change the architecture of the prosecution’s case overnight.
Kent has handled more than fifteen thousand cases over three decades. The number matters less than what it represents: a working knowledge of how prosecutors build serious-felony cases, which forensic disciplines have weak points in cross-examination, and how juries in Collin, Denton, Dallas, and the surrounding counties actually deliberate. He is a solo practitioner, which means clients work directly with him from the bond hearing through trial — there is no junior associate handling the cross-examination of the medical examiner.
Bond is often the first battle. Capital murder triggers a presumption against bond in Texas; first-degree murder rarely receives the bond a family hopes for at the magistrate’s first setting. A motion for bond reduction, filed early and supported by the right affidavits, can change the trajectory of the case — both because freedom helps the client participate in his defense and because being out reduces the pressure to plead. Kent works with vetted Collin County bail bond resources when bond is set, and he is on call 24/7 for the magistration window when minutes matter. For broader background on the firm’s general approach, the criminal law overview page covers the framing in more depth.
Starr Law P.C. represents homicide clients throughout Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson, and Parker Counties. Kent speaks Spanish and Portuguese for clients and families who prefer those languages.
If you or a family member has been arrested for murder, capital murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide — or even if a detective has only “asked you to come in and talk” — call before saying another word. Phone (214) 982-1408 for a free, confidential consultation.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every homicide case turns on its own facts, the assigned prosecutor, and the court of jurisdiction.
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