Two Houston residents have been taken into custody in connection with the murder of a 51-year-old employee of M.D. Anderson, who was found beaten to death in his home on Sept. 29. Police discovered the body of the deceased after his coworkers reported that he had not shown up for work; officers made a welfare check call to the victim’s home in Pearland.
On Oct. 3, police took a 22-year-old woman into custody and charged her with tampering with evidence, a second-degree felony, and arson, a first-degree felony. It is unclear how the woman became involved in the police investigation.
After police questioned the woman on the day of her arrest, they issued an arrest warrant for her 23-year-old boyfriend. Police believe that the boyfriend was responsible for killing the 51-year-old and that the couple tried to burn down the victim’s home together in order to hide evidence of the murder.
Pearland police said that the 23-year-old wanted in the criminal case was “possibly armed and dangerous.” Houston Police located the man and took him into custody on Oct. 4. The man is now being charged with murder. The detectives have not publicly announced any suspected motives in the murder, but they do believe that evidence found at the scene of the crime indicated that the accused couple had specifically targeted the victim in question.
When criminal charges are filed against alleged co-conspirators, the accused persons may have conflicting interests. One accused individual may try to avoid liability by making accusations or statements about the other accused party, and police may try to turn the parties against each other in order to solicit information. Before cooperating with or speaking with police officers, a person accused of a crime may want to speak with a criminal defense attorney about the case.
Source: The Journal Pearland, “ Pearland murder suspect now in custody“, Kristi Nix, October 04, 2013