UT Student's Killer Faces Release Hearing After 2017 Stabbing

The mother of a University of Texas student who was fatally stabbed in 2017 is sounding the alarm ahead of a court hearing later this month that will determine whether her son's killer can be released from a forensic mental health facility.

A judge found Kendrex White, then a UT biology student, not guilty of murdering then UT freshman Harrison Brown by reason of insanity a year and a half after the stabbing due to White's diagnosis with a schizoaffective disorder. He has been in treatment ever since.

But on July 17, White will appear in a Travis County courtroom where a judge will decide if he is well enough to safely be released into the public. His attorney, Krista Chacona, did not respond to a request for comment.

Lori Brown, Harrison Brown’s mother, said she dreads the idea of White being released after "taking" her son from her.

"We were told that his mental illness was so severe and incurable that it would be decades before they would ever consider releasing him," she told the American-Statesman.

While the family was "not 100% happy with the 'not guilty by reason of insanity' ruling," she added, "we were also assured that he would not be back in public for a very, very long time, if ever."

White, who was diagnosed before the incident, had a history of troubling behavior stemming from his disorder, including suicidal ideations and the belief that he was Jesus Christ. In the days leading up to the attack, medical professionals attributed his behavior to stress from university.

In 2019, the Brown family sued White, his parents and his medical caretakers for failing to realize how White's disorder could result in harm to others and not properly controlling his behavior. That lawsuit was ultimately settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

After the stabbing, UT campus safety group SafeHorns launched multiple campaigns to encourage students to proactively seek mental health care.

"We all understand that more than ever, students are struggling with anxiety and depression and mental health issues," SafeHorns President Joell McNew told the Statesman. "We want to make sure that (they) know what resources are there so that we can be proactive to prevent any self-harm or harm to others."

Lori Brown recalled being on the phone with her son only a few minutes before he was stabbed, talking about him coming home at the end of the month in May 2017. Ten minutes later, she received another call from his number, but when she answered, a girl on the other end of the line said her son had been stabbed and was bleeding from his chest.

Finding out about White's possible release and anticipating seeing him in person for the first time in years has brought back painful memories of that day, she said.

"I have to grasp with the understanding that at some point in time, I could come face to face with my son's killer on the street one day," Brown said.