The Murderer Next Door
 

This tragic story caught my attention a few weeks ago. A man shot his female neighbor after a dispute over her dog. It seemed so senseless at the time and occurred in an area not known for gunplay.

Witnesses: Fatal shooting was over barking dogs; suspect charged | khou.com

The victim had helped the shooters wife flee to Mexico because of domestic abuse. The shooter carried a grudge and there were tensions between them. She had a small dog and when it went into his yard, he kicked the dog. When she protested, he shot her. The husband came out with his gun but did not shoot. A second neighbor also came to assist and held the shooter at gunpoint until police arrived.
The victim died in her husbands arms laying in the front yard.

We know the victims family in a round about way.

The strangest part of this tragedy is the shooter is now out on bail and returned to live in the house next to the victim and her husband.

I'm not sure I could have the murderer of my wife sleeping in the home next to me. Strange to me that the courts would allow this. I would not be suprised to hear of another shooting.

I bet a fire might start at that guys house.

A few freinds, a burlap bag, and a coupla bats would take care of this guy !

In what twisted place can someone murder their neighbor, then be out on bail? Is this Texas?

That is unusual. Bail for murder charges can be denied. Often bail is set so high it can't realistically be met. If someone makes bail there are conditions to their release. The conditions should include no contact with the victim and staying away from the crime scene, not doing anything to upset the victim, etc. There must be some reason to let the defendant live in his home and there must be some protection or buffer zone built into the conditions of release.

A few years ago in our area there was a similar murder where the local neighborhood nut job had a feud with a neighbor over feeding deer in their backyard. He and his wife came out one evening, him wielding a shotgun. After an exchange of words, the guy just blew the neighbor away. The wife was tried for aiding and abetting the murder but was acquitted, even though she appeared to be verbally encouraging the murder, she didn't take part. I thought that was a real miscarriage of justice.

the link states that it is. But how can he be out on bail no matter where it is?

The article says he's out on $50,000 bond. If so that's an extremely low amount. It's pretty shocking.

Don't be to surprised if the news report doesn't tell the whole story. It sounds like a bunch of the neighbors were armed and ready to rumble.

For instance, if the investigating officers found that she had a gun, they may also have had reason to believe that she pointed it at him or shot at him first. (Just speculation by me). If that was the case they may be expecting to drop charges.

It wouldn't be first time that reporting is incomplete or inaccurate.

She didn't have a gun. The neighbor and husband both retrieved guns from their homes, I have no reason to not believe that account in the news article posted and similar information from other reports as well

If you have a 50k bond then you only have to post 5k in cash, IIRC my bail bond knowledge is limited. I would say the 50k bond is low, it seems he would be a flight risk as well.

Hard to fathom the senseless killing and now the legal system handling.

I read about that last week or sometime recently. I'm certainly not saying that the guy is wrong, but when you start messing with someone's marriage, you should expect nothing less. Just ask any cop. The worst call to go on is domestic violence. It's not uncommon for a wife to call the cops because the hubby hit her, and then have her turn on the cops when they come get the husband. If the wife needed to escape, then the husband is obviously a bit of a nutbag.

I wonder if the victim's husband could get a restraining order that would keep the guy from being able to go home?

The fact the shooter is still alive shows a lot of restraint from everyone else.

Absolutely. Kind of a shame really.

Texas, guns, add heat - watch the fireworks.

I think in Texas you can beat your wife, but not your dog.

No laughing matter, gotta feel for the shooting victim's husband.

no you can't beat your wife or dog Tx..
we can do a few of things other's cannot..

myself..
and as I love my Lady dearly..
he'd be dead..well he died slowly & painful..
his Lady..I'd give her a 5 yard start..

Rika

.

^^^ go get 'em Rika! :D

The way the article is written it could be that bail was set at $500,000 and he bonded out with a $50,000 bond. That would make a lot more sense, but still, a half million dollar bail seems low for a first degree murder charge.

I didn't claim that she had a gun - I used it as an example of the kind of extenuating circumstances that might have been taken into account. Perhaps I should have worded that statement more carefully.

I have had first hand experience with news reports that were inaccurate, left out important information or were intentionally misleading. (Not about me - I have rarely made the news).

My point is that lots of people seem to assume that they know the whole story from this article. Given that the shooter isn't sitting in jail, that may not be so. On the other hand there is a lot of influence and corruption operating in our politics and law enforcement - it's quite possible that fellow just has the right connections.

your country is sick.
to the point of no return, essentially.

Nah, mostly just the media.

We, the American public devour these information-free news articles and spend endless hours speculating over what really happened. Seems to me, the news organizations are only giving us what we are asking for...

After all, we're typically more interested in what our favorite rapper/diva/reality show star does than real news anyway.

Gary