After being released from jail, man faces enhanced murder charge in 2021 Austin stabbing

A man previously released on bail in connection with a 2021 homicide in South Austin is facing a new charge of capital murder and has been arrested again, police said Wednesday.

Mithovar Christopher Antoine Jr., 22, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Services' Lone Star Fugitive Task Force on Sept. 12 in Temple and charged with murder in the death of 23-year-old Nikolas Eugenio Martinez. After his arrest, police said, Antoine admitted to killing Martinez.

Antoine was released from Bell County Jail on Sept. 14 after posting bail set at $150,000 bail, a U.S. marshals news release said.

A capital murder warrant was issued by the Austin City Municipal Court on Sept. 18, and Antoine was again arrested in Temple on Tuesday and extradited to the Travis County Jail, the Police Department said. Records show Antoine's bail is now set at $10 million.

On the night of July 23, 2021, Martinez called 911 to report he had been stabbed and then driven himself to a convenience store in South Austin. First responders found Martinez outside a Conoco station along Interstate 35, where he was later pronounced dead.

More: US marshals: Man arrested and charged with murder in 2021 South Austin stabbing

In June, nearly three years after the stabbing, police received an anonymous tip with information about Martinez's killing. The source, identified as "TB," told police he had been present when Martinez was killed and had witnessed a man known as "Chris" stab Martinez in the neck, according to an arrest affidavit.

Police said they linked "TB" to Antoine through cell phone records, and traced Antoine's phone to an address in Temple, confirming the information provided by "TB."

"TB" told police that Antoine did not know Martinez but had asked the victim to drive Antoine and his companions to a store to buy drinks after Antoine's car had broken down. Martinez drove them to the store and purchased their drinks, before driving them back to the disabled car. Antoine told police he thanked Martinez and then stabbed him, the affidavit says, as he wanted to steal the victim's car.

During their investigation, police said they accessed Antoine's Google accounts and found he had searched for "people getting stabbed in austin," and "people getting stabbed in austin 2021," six days after Martinez's death.

More: 5 months to go, Austin matches number of homicides in all of 2020: 48 killed so far this year

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: After being released from jail, man faces enhanced murder charge in 2021 Austin stabbing