nightmare date, cont'd

'No contact' for woman accused of ruining $300K worth of art during date with River Oaks attorney

The woman at the center of River Oaks attorney Tony Buzbee's disaster date has been charged with criminal mischief.

Courtesy photo

There's an update to the River Oaks disaster date story. The woman accused of destroying Houston attorney Tony Buzbee's expensive art faced a judge Tuesday morning.

Lindy Layman, 29, was charged with criminal mischief after she allegedly became intoxicated during a date with Buzbee, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Layman's attorney dismissed Buzbee's account of the couple's date.

"We certainly disagree with Mr. Buzbee's rendition of the facts, and we disagree with what was said in probable cause court," defense attorney Justin Keiter said.

According to details that came out in court, Layman and Buzbee were on a date when she became heavily intoxicated and they returned to his home.

Buzbee believed Layman was too intoxicated and called an Uber driver to pick her up. She allegedly refused to leave and hid in his home. That's when Buzbee called a second Uber driver.

Layman was aggressive toward the second Uber driver, walked back into Buzbee's home and shouted, "I'm not leaving," according to court details. That's when she allegedly poured red wine on his paintings and ripped them off the wall, then threw his sculptures on the ground.

The paintings apparently include an Andy Warhol original. According to court documents, the resulting damage cost at least $300,000.

Keiter said the judge issued standard conditions, and no contact order.

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For more on this story, including video from today's court appearance, visit our content partner, ABC-13.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”