Travis County DA Drops Assault Charges Against Ex-UT Coach Chris Beard

AUSTIN, TX — The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has dropped all charges against Chris Beard, the former head basketball coach for the University of Texas at Austin. He was fired last month after authorities accused him of strangling his fiancee.

Travis County District Attorney José Garza said Wednesday his agency takes all domestic abuse cases seriously but decided they did not have sufficient evidence to pursue a conviction.

A statement from the Travis County District Attorney’s office said, “After a careful and thorough review of the evidence, recent public statements, and considering Ms. Trew’s wishes, our office has determined that the felony offense cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” 

The Austin Police Department arrested Beard on Dec. 12 after they responded to a call about a domestic dispute between Beard and his fiance. The police responded, and at around 4 a.m., he was arrested for assault on a family/household member by impeding breath circulation. Trew, his fiancee, later made public statements denying that Beard had strangled her.

“Everyone knows that Coach Beard has maintained his absolute innocence since the moment he was arrested,” Perry Minton, Beard’s lawyer, told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “Additionally, this district attorney has a well-earned reputation for being very tough regarding domestic violence cases. The fact that Mr. Garza’s review resulted in this determination so quickly says a lot. We are very pleased.”

The University of Texas fired Beard three weeks after the incident. Beard was hired by Texas in 2021 when the university paid $4 million to buy out his contract at Texas Tech University. Since Beard was fired for cause, the university does not need to pay out the remainder of his contract.