Statute of limitations?

If I'm not mistaken, the statute of limitations only applies to the time limit for actually bringing up charges. The charges had already been pressed and the trial begun. He evaded them by becoming a fugitive, so he still would've had to stand trial. It wouldn't be called off just because he illegally avoided justice. If that was the case, every criminal would just jump bail and hide out until a certain amount of time passed in order to avoid trial. If the accusations hadn't been made until ten years after the crimes happened, the statute of limitations likely would have run out and the charges couldn't go forward. But the trial had already began, so it had to proceed even though it took years to find him.