By Moses Leos III
A series of heavy sighs and the sign of tears are what Nathanael Eddleman exhibited Thursday as he exited a Hays County Courtroom a free man.
After five hours of deliberation, a jury found Eddleman, 19, not guilty of failing to render aid in the 2013 hit-and-run death of Phillip Duran.
The verdict closes a two-year emotional saga that has split the community.
Upon hearing the verdict, members of Eddleman’s family and friends shed tears, sobs and shared hugs. Eddleman breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the verdict was announced. Todd Nickle, who represented Eddleman in the case, declined to offer a comment after the trial ended.
A call was placed Monday to Nickle’s office to follow up on the conclusion of the trial. Nickle did not respond by press time.
The Eddleman family exited the courthouse without speaking to the media.
Friends and family of the Duran family sat in stunned silence soon after the verdict was read. Rebecca Duran, Philip Duran’s mother, swiftly exited the courtroom moments after the verdict was announced.
In a written statement to the Hays Free Press, Duran expressed the difficulty she, her son Chad Benninghoff, and her family have had since her son’s death. She also said that Duran’s “violent death has threatened my sense of safety in our community.”
“I am devastated, Chad is devastated, our whole family has not gotten over the shock,” she wrote. “Most importantly his children are stricken with grief in a way I could never describe as they try to comprehend how they will never see their Father again…”
In a statement from the office of Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau, the jury’s ruling held that the prosecution “failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that Eddleman knew, or should have known, that the collision caused the injury of a person.
“While the verdict is disappointing to us and to Mr. Duran’s family, we know that the jurors considered the evidence carefully and performed their duties to the best of their abilities,” Mau said in a written statement.
The verdict brought frustration for former Kyle City Council member Benninghoff, brother of Philip Duran. Benninghoff, who helped in the search for Duran on April 28, 2013, was the first to discover his body along FM 1626.
Benninghoff, who attended all three days of the trial, was the first person to leave the courtroom immediately after the verdict. He said he was “very surprised” by the outcome.
But he said specific information was needed to prove Eddleman guilty. It came down to the “wording in the law.”
Part of Benninghoff’s frustration was Eddleman’s alleged negative interactions in the past with law enforcement. But he held concerns that the verdict sets a precedent when it comes to hit-and-run cases.
“If you look at similar cases in Austin…[the] message that reiterates to our society is that it’s okay to drive, hit someone, kill someone and nothing is going to happen to you,” Benninghoff said.
Continuing to be active in the community is the next step for Benninghoff, who has since moved to New Mexico. He wishes to continue to be a positive role model for his and his late brother’s children.
But even if Eddleman were to be convicted in his brother’s death, Benninghoff believed it would do little to bring justice.
“There is no justice for my brother. It wouldn’t have mattered if he was convicted,” Benninghoff said. “There’s no justice for killing someone like that.”
