Mother Murdered in Home While Her Five Children Were Sleeping
A Texas mother was shot and killed overnight at her home while her five children were asleep, according to investigators.
The unnamed woman's body was found at her home in 5900 Cypresswood Green Drive, Spring. The Harris County Sheriff's Office currently believes the woman's boyfriend killed her.
Fox 26 News' Natalie Hee spoke to Spring residents, who told her the couple were common-law married and had been together for eight years.
The accused boyfriend's sister, Sandra Landry, spoke to Fox26 News and said she did not believe her brother was a killer. She also said the pair have had relationship issues in the past but her brother loved his wife and children.
She said: "He did not kill his wife. When he lost his mom the next thing to him was her.
"It was like his world just opened up. When you say 'love somebody and a husband that loves his wife and his kids and would go above and beyond for them,' he made sure."
She also delivered a message to her brother and offered her support.
She said: "I love you and I'm telling you right now brother we are standing behind you, God has got you and mother has got you."
Harris County Sheriff's Office has been contacted by Newsweek for comment.
The director of violence prevention at the Houston area Women's Center, Isabel Martinez, told Fox26 News that domestic violence incidents have risen sharply over the last year. She added that they tend to increase over the holiday season.
She said: "During the holidays what happens is maybe they are in closer proximity.
"According to statistics we have seen an increase, I believe it was 80 percent, in this last year of domestic violence cases here in Harris County in Houston."
According to unpublished FBI data analyzed for Reveal by criminologist James Alan Fox of Northeastern University, domestic violence gun homicides have been on an increase over the last six years.
According to the Reveal data, domestic violence gun homicides by intimate partners has jumped 58 percent over the last decade.
In addition to this, The Guardian reported that the coronavirus pandemic period has also seen an increase in gun homicides. Gun homicides involving intimate partners rose by 25 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year.
Reflecting on this data, associate professor of law at Southern Methodist University Natalie Nanasi said: "Every one of these deaths is preventable.
"It's absolutely outrageous that we're losing people in this way, because we know what we need to do in order to prevent it from happening. We have laws on the books. We're just not actually enforcing them."
