AUSTIN, Texas — A bill filed in honor of a Huston-Tillotson University student who was murdered two years ago is now the law of the land in Texas.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 1325, or the "Natalia Cox Act," into law on Saturday. The bill is named for Natalia Cox, a 21-year-old Huston-Tillotson University student who was murdered in her apartment in March 2021 by a man police said threatened her with a gun just one week earlier.
Police later arrested Henry Watson for Cox's murder. Investigators claim Cox had been on two dates with Watson during the days leading up to her death.
Following the tragedy, State Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) – who filed the House version of the Natalia Cox Act – told the KVUE Defenders that Cox’s situation highlighted the need for stronger laws to protect domestic violence victims.
While the Texas Property Code allows domestic violence victims to break a lease without penalties by showing documentation like an emergency protective order, Cox did not have such an order.
In the four business days that Cox had between Watson’s alleged threat then murder, it would have been “extremely difficult” to get the emergency protective order approved by a judge during a time when the court system was already backlogged due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a prosecutor familiar with the process.
The Natalia Cox Act will help create a written notice that can be given to victims of domestic violence to assist them in obtaining services, including organizations that can help with safety planning, shelter and protection. The notice will also include information on victims’ legal rights, such as filing criminal charges, obtaining an emergency protective order and terminating a lease due to a threat.
Under the law, any officer who responds to a domestic violence allegation will have to provide the victim with that information.
The law also applies to medical professionals who treat people for injuries believed to be caused by domestic violence. Medical professionals are now required to provide victims with information regarding the nearest domestic violence shelters and document that in the person’s medical file.
SB 1325 went into effect immediately upon receiving Abbott's signature because the bill language included an effective immediately date in the event it received at least a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.