A judge dismissed George Crater's murder conviction, and he was booked again on the same charge.

The April jury verdict was a conviction. The dismissal without prejudice erased it and let prosecutors file again. azfamily reported the new charge is first-degree murder, that Crater was arrested Wednesday, and that he is due back in court next week. ABC15 reported the bond is $1 million cash only. A refiled charge is not a new conviction.

ABC15 Arizona reported that a judge last week threw out the murder conviction against George Crater. The station reported he is accused of beating his Sun City tenant to death in 2024, and that he was re-arrested last week and booked back into jail. azfamily reported he is back in custody on a first-degree murder charge after a judge dismissed the previous case without prejudice. azfamily reported another judge set a $1 million cash appearance bond and that Crater returns to court next week. ABC15 reported he remains in jail on a $1 million cash-only bond. ABC15 said Thomas Galatola was 70. azfamily said he was 72. Both outlets placed the home near 99th Avenue and Bell Road in Sun City.

The allegations are what each outlet says the court papers describe. ABC15 reported the documents say Galatola had fallen behind on rent, so Crater flew from Washington state to confront him. The station reported Crater sent photos of Galatola after the assault to family members and to his boss, who reported the crime. It reported that a day later Galatola told police Crater had tied him up, beat him, and cut his palm open, and that Crater allegedly said, "You'll be dead this afternoon." ABC15 reported Galatola then had trouble walking, was taken to a hospital, and died of a cerebral hematoma. azfamily reported court records say Crater entered the home he owned through the garage, tied the tenant with zip ties, beat him, and threatened to kill him. azfamily reported Galatola said on hospital body-camera video, "He proceeded to beat me with a bag of zip ties and then his fist, and he pulled me onto the rope, and then he started to kick me. He took a kitchen knife and stabbed me over here." azfamily reported he identified Crater in a photo lineup, then slipped into a coma, and died of blunt force trauma to the head. Cerebral hematoma and blunt force trauma to the head are the two cause-of-death lines in this week's coverage.

A jury convicted Crater of murder in April, both outlets reported. ABC15 reported the judge threw out that verdict because the Maricopa County Attorney's Office never told the defense about a misconduct investigation into a detective on the case. The station reported the judge noted the office did not know of the Brady violation in advance. The detective is former Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Detective Juan Ruiz. ABC15 reported court records say he testified at trial while under investigation for internal violations from 2020: using emergency lights in a personal vehicle to avoid a traffic stop's consequences, illegally equipping that vehicle with red and blue lights, driving alone in an HOV lane, and failing to report police contact. ABC15 reported the defense says the sheriff's office finished that investigation in February and the findings reached the defense in May. In a statement to ABC15, the county attorney's office said it learned of the investigation on April 23, the day after the conviction. Defense attorney Adam Feldman told ABC15, "The state's case agent withheld Brady material from both the prosecutors and defense." He said the failure was significant enough that the court dismissed the case. He also said, "Now he has to face double time because of the state's agent's treachery and ultimately dishonesty with this case." ABC15 reported Ruiz left the sheriff's office and began work as a sworn officer at the Goodyear Police Department on July 14, 2025.

The dismissal was without prejudice. ABC15 reported that means the charges could be filed again, and they were. azfamily reported prosecutors refiled days after Crater was released, and that he was arrested again on Wednesday. That booking is on the refiled charge. It does not restore the April verdict. azfamily also reported that in June 2025, while Crater was awaiting trial, deputies went to the same house after reports of gunfire. The station reported three people were shot, two died, and a third was hospitalized in what investigators later called a murder-suicide. azfamily reported the county gave no further information when asked. That later case is not this charge. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.