Advertisement

Mistrial declared in Simone Biles' brother's murder trial after paperwork issue

Simone Biles warms up prior to the 2021 GK U.S. Classic gymnastics competition
Simone Biles' brother, Tevin Biles-Thomas, was arrested in 2019 after he allegedly shot and killed three people at a New Year's Eve party. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) (Emilee Chinn via Getty Images)

An Ohio judge declared a mistrial in the murder trial of the brother of Simone Biles on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

The decision came after all 12 jurors in the case told the judge that they had read legal paperwork that was accidentally included in evidence given to them to review. The paperwork in question included legal briefs from Tevin Biles-Thomas’ lawyers and prosecutors arguing about whether Biles-Thomas acted in self-defense had influenced them, per the report. It’s unclear how the paperwork reached the jurors.

Simone Biles’ brother arrested, charged with murder

Biles’ brother, Tevin Biles-Thomas, was arrested in August 2019 and charged with murder for his alleged involvement in a 2018 New Year’s Even triple homicide in Cleveland, Ohio.

The shooting took place at a party at an Airbnb rental, police said, and occurred after several people showed up to the party uninvited and were asked to leave. When they didn’t, a fight broke out and gunfire ensued. Three people were killed and two others were wounded.

The three victims — Devaughn Gibson, 23, DelVaunte Johnson, 19, and Toshon Banks, 21 — all died of multiple gunshot wounds and were allegedly killed by Biles-Thomas. He is also facing voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault and perjury charges.

Biles reportedly did not grow up with her brother, as she and three other siblings were placed into foster care when she was three years old. Biles and her younger sister grew up with their maternal grandfather and his wife in Houston, and Biles-Thomas and their other sibling moved to Cleveland with a different relative.

“My heart aches for everyone involved, especially for the victims and their families,” Biles said on Twitter days after her brother’s arrest. “There is nothing I can say that will heal anyone’s pain, but I do want to express my sincere condolences to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy.

“I ask everyone to please respect my family’s privacy as we deal with our pain. XO.”

Biles, the four-time Olympic gold medalist, is currently preparing for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics later this summer. She landed a Yurchenko double pike on the vault on Saturday in her first competition in 18 months, a move that no woman has done before.

More from Yahoo Sports: