Murder and Homicide

Rap-a-Lot’s J. Prince Sues Apple, BET

Waldhauser Watch

A story about the new life and old ways of a notorious killer spurs indictments and national coverage

Crime & Punishment

Ten years ago, Anthony Ray Westley entered a bait shop to commit a crime. Was it a crime worth dying for?

Blood Feud

The head of the ME's DNA lab says prosecutors are trying to discredit her for failing to be a "team player"

The Victim's Victims

Four years after his daughter's murder, Bob Carreiro crusades to bring criminals to justice and peace to lives wrecked by crime. But to the family who shared his tragedy, he shows no mercy.

Gayland's Choice

Gayland Randle was there the night Paul Broussard was murdered, but he never laid a hand on the victim. So why is Randle doing 15 years in prison?

Blood Sport

In the dogfight business, pit bulls get killed all the time. Sometimes, so do people.

Heartburn Can Be Murder

A body may soon be unburied in the bizarre Basso case

Killer On The Loose

Was Walter Waldhauser/ Michael Davis tipped about his latest arrest warrants?

J.T. Ellison and Laura Bendict

There’s a double-header of thrillers at this signing/reading

A Very Good Year

Inmate Beckcom gets his term reduced for his work in the Prible case

The Devil You Say

Was Jeffery Prible the cold-blooded murderer of an entire family? Or the gullible target of an opportunistic jailhouse informant?

Downfall 2012, with Pimpadelic

Friday, November 29

The Private Trial of Donald Davis

A Houston attorney who specialized in saving killers' lives couldn't handle his own. So he took it.

News of the Weird

A Houston attorney who specialized in saving killers' lives couldn't handle his own. So he took it.

Defending the Indefensible

Do court-appointed attorneys serve their clients or the courts?

Bayou Body Count: Death Doesn't Take A Holiday

Unfortunately, murder doesn't recognize holiday weekends, as evidenced by the following homicide investigations recently opened by area law enforcement.A man was killed following a shootout with Humble police late this morning. Details are limited, but the incident occurred outside an employment off ... More >>

Houston Man In Center Of Florida Cold Case, Raising Questions Of Justice

MartinThis item is by Thomas Francis, a writer for our sister paper in Broward County/ Palm Beach, Florida. It's about a Houston guy, so we present it here for your perusal.An arrest in a cold case is supposed to be an occasion for celebrating the enduring cause of justice. There is no statute ... More >>

The Chevy Cobalt: Not So Safe After All

There's nothing wrong with the Chevy Cobalt. It's an affordable little car that gets pretty good gas mileage on the highway, but is it really worth killing over? According to Houston police, the answer appears to be yes. Huu Khanh Phung, 55, was in his silver-colored Cobalt near the intersectio ... More >>

Bayou Body Count: Sometimes The Cases Are Easy, Sometimes Not

courtesy of HCSOSandra Martinez​It may seem like it sometimes, but not all murders in Houston go unsolved.Take, for instance, a case last Friday inside a home at 10727 Lumber Ridge Trail. Sandra Martinez and her husband, Cesar Barrera, had been arguing most of the night when at about 9:30 p.m. Bar ... More >>

Bayou Body Count: A Hatchet Man And A Cold Case

courtesy of HPDMelchor Izquierdo​There is a hatchet-man killer hiding in Houston. The cops know who he is, but not where to find him.Police are hunting for Melchor Izquierdo, 29, charged with murder in the slaying of Estevan Tellez back on September 14. Tellez, 42, who worked at a foundation busin ... More >>

Bayou Body Count: Houstonians Finally Get Back To Killing Each Other

​Less than a week ago, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt zipped off a news release proudly reporting that for the first time in memory there had been no reported murders in the city for 10 straight days."HPD's veteran Homicide investigators cannot recall a single week in the past decade without a ... More >>

Bayou Body Count: Burning Down The House

​There's the guy who allegedly drove over a woman and then there's the fellow who allegedly shot three dudes and burned the house down.Yes, these are just a few of the many murders that the hard-working Houston homicide detectives have ostensibly solved over the past week. It started out as jus ... More >>

Unidentified Woman and Unidentified Man, Bayou Body Count Nos. 88 and 89

​Police say robbery could be a motive in the slaying of a married couple in Southwest Houston yesterday. The 42-year-old man and his 39-year-old wife were found bound with duct tape and shot to death in their partially ransacked home in the 11500 block of Keegan's Ridge, near West Bellfort an ... More >>

The Killer of His Daughter's Mother

A cunning American boy becomes a Mexican cartel soldier and East L.A. executioner.

Cesar Manuel Cazares: Nabbed For A Stabbing Death 21 Years Later

A 2009 kidnapping case breaks a 1989 murder​Score one for the cold-case squad at the Houston Police Department -- they've announced the arrest of a man suspected of stabbing a romantic rival to death 21 years ago.Cesar Manual Cazares, 42, is accused of killing Leonides Ponce, then 27, back i ... More >>

Aileen Willis, 90, Bayou Body Count No. 248

Quincy Lee Johnson, Jr.: Strangled his 90-year-old great-grandmother, police say​Capital murder charges have been filed against the great-grandson of a 90-year-old woman found strangled to death on the west side, police say.Quincy Lee Johnson, Jr., 17, has been charged with murdering Aileen Willis ... More >>

Loreal Bronte Castro: Arrest Made In Teen's Drive-By Death

Carlos Jesus Marquez has been charged with murder​Loreal Bronte Castro, 17, was just sitting in a pick-up truck after a Halloween party on the southeast side of town October 30. Suddenly a car came down the street, shots were fired randomly, and Castro was mortally wounded. Houston police ma ... More >>

Justin Aaron Conrad, 27, Bayou Body Count No. 300

Photo courtesy HPDEric Cooper, charged with murder​A murder in a northwest side record store was likely drug-related, police say. Justin Aaron Conrad, 27, was killed in a shootout at the Urban Soundz store in the 8600 block of North Houston Rosslyn about 6:40 p.m. Thursday, HPD says. Eric Co ... More >>

Unidentified Male, 24, Bayou Body Count No. 1

A stabbing death kicks off 2011​A man came home to his southwest side apartment and discovered his roommate had been stabbed to death, police say. The name of the victim, 24, has not been released pending notification of family members. His roommate returned to their apartment in the 9400 bl ... More >>

Maria Escamilla, 51, Bayou Body Count No. 8

Photo courtesy HPDJose Guerrero, charged with murder​A woman was killed on the southeast side and an arrest has been made in the case, Houston police say. Maria Escamilla, 51, was found dead from a gunshot wound inside a building in the 3000 block of Broadway about 10:45 p.m. January 8, HPD s ... More >>

Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 16

HPDAngel Cantu, charged with murder and on the run​A man tried to escape a beating at his house by jumping out the window, but instead was stabbed to death, Sunday morning, Houston police say. Murder charges have been filed against Angel F. Cantu, 19, who is currently on the run. The name of ... More >>

Unidentified Female, One Month Old, Bayou Body Count No. 22

HPDMilton Rolando Paz, accused of murdering an infant​Capital murder charges have been filed against the father of a one-month old baby girl who died Monday morning, police say. Milton Rolando Paz, 25, was arrested in connection with the incident that happened in the 3900 block of Arlington ... More >>

Robert Anthony Realyvasquez, 19, Bayou Body Count No. 27

HPDDavid Garcia, charged with murder​A 19-year-old man is dead after being shot several times in the head at a northside apartment complex early Saturday morning, police say. Robert Anthony Realyvasquez, 19, of Tomball, died after David Garza, 20, pulled up to him as he was stopped at the com ... More >>

Unidentified Males, Bayou Body Count No. 36 and 37

Two men shot dead.​Two unidentified men were shot dead around 2 a.m. Sunday, March 20 at 6200 West Bellfort. Police report the victims were in the parking lot of an apartment complex waiting for the suspect to return a phone to him. The phone was found at a convenience story in the 11100 bloc ... More >>

Divis Garcia Ordonez, Antonio Leon: Escaped to Honduras After West Bellfort Murders, HPD Says

HPDDivis Ordonez: On the run.​Two men who have been charged with a pair of murders at a West Bellfort apartment complex this month are believed to have escaped to Honduras, Houston police say. Divis Garcia Ordonez, 24, and Antonio Leon, 21, who also goes by George Celaya, are each charged wit ... More >>

Jim Andrew Lee, 58, Bayou Body Count No. 44

HPDAntone Richie: Homeless and wanted by police​A homeless man has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of a security guard, police say. Antone Richie, 53, is still on the run. He is wanted for the murder of Jim Andrew Lee, 58. Lee was a security guard at an office building in the ... More >>

Victor Ramirez, 43, Bayou Body Count No. 60

HPDPedro Rodriguez: Wanted for murder.​A northwest side man shot his three neighbors in an argument and killed one of them on May 2, Houston police said. He was charged with murder over the weekend and is on the run. Victor Ramirez, 43, was shot and killed in front of his home in the 7500 blo ... More >>

Keith Monteds Brown, 40, Bayou Body Count No. 67

Gunned down at home​A man answered a knock on the door at his south Houston home last night and was shot to death, police say. Keith Monteds Brown, 40, was in his home in the 4200 block of Groton around 9 p.m. last night when he answered the door, HPD says. He was then gunned down and pronou ... More >>

Unidentified Homeless Man, Bayou Body Count No. 71

Found shot to death in the bayou​Houston homicide detectives are asking the public's help in identifying a homeless man whose body was found in Buffalo Bayou downtown Saturday morning. The man had apparently suffered gunshot wounds, HPD said. The body was found near the 700 block of Franklin ... More >>

Unidentified Man in His 20s, Bayou Body Count No. 72

Body found in a city park.​Police discovered the body of a man reportedly stabbed to death in a park near downtown this morning. The man, who has not been identified, was in his 20s, police say. KPRC reports the man was stabbed to death. The body was found about 4 a.m. today in Emancipation ... More >>

Alicia Saldana Gonzalez, 36, Bayou Body Count No. 73

HPDJesus Gonzales: Charged with murder​An argument between a husband and wife ended when he stabbed her to death on the porch of their east side home Thursday night. The couple's three children were at home and might have witnessed the incident. Alicia Saldana Gonzalez, 36, was stabbed multip ... More >>

Are Police Downplaying Sexual Assault in the Third Ward?

Photo by Mandy OaklanderCouncilmembers Wanda Adams and C.O. Bradford called for more transparency last night with HPD.​When Third Ward activists get together with HPD, the results aren't usually rosy. But last night's standing-room-only meeting of the Positive Interaction Program (PIP), which ... More >>

Chevis Cooks, 31, Bayou Body Count No. 135

Two persons shot to death in their cars on the north side Thursday morning.​A man was shot to death in his car in broad daylight on the northside Thursday, Houston police say. Chevis Cooks, 31, was shot in the 5500 block of Kashmere at about 11:30 a.m., HPD says. He was inside his vehicle at ... More >>

Phillip Little: Four Arrested in Domino's Driver's Murder

Timothy Robinson and three others face capital murder charges.​Four people -- including a 15-year-old girl -- have been arrested for the November 2 murder of Domino's Pizza driver Phillip Little, Houston police said today. Little was shot in a robbery attempt near the intersection of Martin L ... More >>

Unidentified Male Shot at Club, Bayou Body Count No. 195

Dead in a westside restaurant/club.​Homicide police are investigating the death of a man found shot to death at a westside restaurant and club last week. The man, whose identity has not been released pending notification to family members, was shot in Clayton's Restaurant and Club in the 190 ... More >>

Margaret Marie Gage, 82, Beaten To Death In Home Invasion, Bayou Body Count No. 5

Elderly woman beaten to death by robber​An 82-year-old woman was beaten to death as part of a robbery in a quiet southwest-side neighborhood last night, Houston police said. Margaret Marie Gage, 82, was at home in the 5700 block of Sanford in Westbury when her husband opened the back door abo ... More >>

Michael Ray Cooper, 28, Bayou Body Count No. 8

Shot to death by a visitor​A man was shot to death in his Sunnyside home Sunday evening, police say. Michael Ray Cooper, 28, had a visitor to his home in the 3600 block of Bloomfield about noon Sunday. "At some point during the visit, the suspect shot and killed Cooper," HPD says. "After the ... More >>

Reginald Eaglin Charged in Death of Montrose Salon Owner

Reginald Eaglin​We reported to you this morning that Scott Ellis Childress, 46, had been beaten to death over the weekend at his Montrose-area salon. According to a media report, Reginald Elgin has been charged with murder in the death of Childress. According to police reports, Childress and ... More >>

Brandon Larue Jackson: Serious About Face Ink, Charged with Murder

Brandon Larue Jackson​There is commitment to your tats and then there is COMMITMENT! In the case of Brandon Larue Jackson, the man is serious when it comes to his ink. Unfortunately, he is also being accused of the shooting death of Casey D. Read on July 7, 2010. The 26-year-old Jackson was a ... More >>