Mistrial declared in Lexington murder. It’s already 2nd time case has gone to trial
A mistrial has been declared in the second trial of a Lexington man previously convicted of suffocating a woman and hiding her body in a closet.
William Parker “Bill” Brown, 56, was found guilty last year of the murder of 62-year-old Ava Creech, who was found bound, gagged and decomposing in a closet in her Victoria Way home Oct. 2, 2020.
At the conclusion of his jury trial in April 2024, Brown was found guilty of murder, being a felon in possession of a handgun, and receiving stolen property. He received a life sentence.
But in October 2025, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously granted Brown a new trial, according to court documents.
His new trial began Monday, June 1, and by Tuesday a mistrial was declared, according to defense attorney Chris Tracy.
Tracy declined to comment further.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Kim Baird said the mistrial was declared after “an evidentiary ruling regarding a witness.”
The state supreme court gave Brown his new trial after unanimously ruling prosecutors withheld jail phone call recordings from Brown’s defense team that justices felt could have changed how Brown and his lawyers defended him.
The jail call recordings
Prosecutors said Creech died Sept. 11, 2020, but her body wasn’t found by police until Oct. 2.
She had been bound with duct tape and had paper towels shoved down her throat. Her cause of death was ruled asphyxiation and blunt force trauma, records show.
In April 2024, Brown took the stand in his own defense and was confronted by prosecutors, who played jail recordings between Brown and his sister discussing the case. The phone calls, made while the trial was ongoing, were not turned over to the defense as part of discovery ahead of their introduction in the courtroom, which is required by law.
Dan Parker, Brown’s previous trial attorney, objected to the calls being introduced as his client was being questioned under oath. Parker asked to review the calls on a break, but his request was denied.
Prosecutors Katie Holt and James Judge argued at trial they didn’t have to disclose the calls, and Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas Travis agreed. Judge is no longer practicing as a prosecutor in Lexington.
The justices noted Travis was more focused on whether the jury could hear the calls under hearsay rules, as opposed to whether there was a problem with how the evidence was introduced.
The jury heard a portion of the recorded call in which Brown told his sister that his lawyer advised him, “it’s just hard to go in there and dispute the gun too much without making it look like you’re lying about the murder.”
“The gun” referred to a gun Brown was accused of having that led to his charge of being a felon in possession of a handgun.
Other portions of the call were played as well, and Brown could be heard saying it was “good for his case” that a friend of the victim had since died, and therefore couldn’t testify.
The supreme court said both statements suggested a consciousness of guilt and could have changed how the defense presented their case.
Travis ruled that the evidence couldn’t be used in the second trial.
A status hearing has been set for June 24.
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 1:00 PM.
