TYLER, Texas — An Arlington man accused of killing his boyfriend in 2020 at a store near Tyler State Park had his murder charge dismissed after he died while awaiting trial in the Smith County Jail last month due to natural causes, documents show.
Robert Ernst Price, 52, was charged with causing the death of Nathaniel Charles Snell, 32, of Arlington, on July 20, 2020, at the Exxon Food Mart convenience store in the 14900 block of FM 14.
In March 2021, Price was offered a 40-year sentence in a plea agreement, but he denied the offer and requested a jury trial.
According to an Office of the Texas Attorney General report regarding Price's death, Price was pronounced dead on March 20 this year.
Since he was booked into the jail on July 23, 2020, the report stated that Price had numerous medical issues and was sent to the hospital several times.
On March 15, he was sent to a Tyler hospital regarding feeling lethargic and having an altered mental state. At the facility, he tested positive for COVID-19.
When the Smith County Sheriff's Office was informed of his death five days later, the Texas Rangers were notified and an investigation into the death began. Texas Rangers investigating inmate deaths is typical procedure.
In a court filing, 7th District Court Judge Kerry Russell approved the dismissal of Price's murder charge after Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance requested the dismissal because of Price's death.
"Although there was sufficient probable cause at the time of arrest and charging of the defendant for this offense, the state believes the interests of justice and judicial economy would best be served if this charge is dismissed without prejudice," Vance said in the document.
The AG report also labeled the cause of death as illness or natural cause and suggested that his illness was the result of a pre-existing medical condition.
Price's medical cause of death in the report is listed as kidney and liver failure, while noting that medical examiner evaluation results are pending.
According to court documents filed in February, Price's attorney requested that an expert evaluate Price to determine whether he was competent to stand trial or not. She told the court in February that Price has "deteriorated very rapidly over the past weeks" and he was unaware of what was happening around him.
Following the request, Russell appointed a physician to evaluate Price to determine his competency to stand; however, court records show that examination did not occur prior to Price's death.
According to an arrest affidavit, security camera footage showed a vehicle in the parking lot of the Exxon on July 20, 2020, when a gunshot was heard. A man matching Snell’s description jumps out of the vehicle's passenger side and runs into the store.
Items from Snell’s pockets later led the Smith County Sheriff’s Office to an Arlington neighborhood, the affidavit stated.
Snell and Price’s roommate in Arlington said the pair were arguing early on July 20 after Price found child pornography on Snell’s phone and later meth paraphernalia in his bedroom, according to the police document.
The decision was made for Snell to stop living in the home. The roommate said he saw Price sleeping alone on July 21 in the Arlington house, the affidavit read.
The document stated Price was seen crying and he took Snell’s belongings to a Goodwill donation box.
