'Feared for his life': Man says after being acquitted of murder at Kirby apartments in 2014
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Days after being acquitted of murder, Huntley James Grichor says it's all sinking in.
He said, "I'm thankful I'm not in jail and I owe it to the Lord and this guy, he's an amazing lawyer."
Grichor was referring to his attorney, Chris Flood.
Flood says he believes putting his client on the stand helped in his own defense.
After a three week trial and nine hours of deliberations, a jury found him not guilty by reason of self-defense in the September 2014 stabbing death of Shannon James Gallagher at Gables West Ave apartments on Kirby.
He says it's a night seared in his mind forever.
"He was enraged and started sprinting towards me. He took off his shirt. He reached in his pocket and pulled out what I thought was a knife," said Grichor.
He says he ran into his apartment and got a knife and returned where the confrontation continued. He says he feared for his life and stabbed Gallagher as he came at him.
Investigators say the two initially met and had a fight at a nearby bar. After they left, Grichor says he saw Gallagher and his group in the hallway of the apartments.
Gallagher's good friend says he misses him terribly.
"He made a bad decision and I think he regrets it but for him to get away with it, that's what gets me the most," said Brian Christensen.
He says he still can't believe what happened.
"He was not the aggressive type, he wasn't the one who would even get in fights. To hear him be in this situation was kind of rare," said Christensen.
Grichor is now a free man and says he's moving out of state to start a new life but says he hasn't forgotten that a man died from his actions.
"I think about it every day. It's difficult to know I've taken someone's life. It's not something I'm proud of. It's something I never wanted. I didn't know him until that hallway. I was in fear for my life," said Grichor.
Christensen says Gallagher was a fun and positive person who loved his family very much.
