March trial set in death of track star

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The woman indicted in the fatal stabbing of a Huston-Tillotson University track star a year ago will go on trial March 25, a judge ruled on Friday.

Kaitlyn Ritcherson is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Fatima Barrie, 21.

Barrie was stabbed in Downtown Austin on Fifth Street on Dec. 4 2011, just after 2 a.m. Police said Barrie was with two friends when she left a downtown club, where a large crowd gathered outside. Barrie died from her injuries  Dec. 21 at University Medical Center Brackenridge.

Witnesses said they saw Ritcherson where it happened -- at 201 W. Fifth St. -- wearing a red jacket, which authorities said they later used to link Ritcherson to the incident.

A witness connected to Ritcherson through mutual friends told police Ritcherson ran toward Barrie when a man tried to take the knife from her hand but couldn't. The witness told police Ritcherson was able to break away and ran toward Barrie.

Friends told police that as they were walking away, Barrie fell to the ground bleeding.

Ritcherson told police she was at that location but didn't have a knife. She told police a woman hit her in the head and stabbed her right leg.

Barrie earned Huston-Tillotson athletic yearly awards, Red River Athletic Conference honors, and consistently qualified for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics nationals. As a biology major, she was interested in pursuing a career in medicine.