A 9-year-old girl allegedly witnessed the murder of her mother by the woman’s partner.
Houston Police arrested 32-year-old Thomas Wilson Alexander, who was charged with murder on Monday in the deadly shooting of his partner Jasmine McHenry, 29. Police said Alexander shot McHenry multiple times in front of her 9-year-old daughter, Azariah, after a verbal argument.
Speaking to local media, Azariah recalled her mother calling for help prior to the fatal shooting.
“My mom told me to call my grandma, and she told my grandma that Thomas pulled out a gun, and my grandma came,” Azariah told ABC13.
Cynthia Demerson, McHenry’s mother, said she immediately came over after Azariah called her.
“She said he was going to shoot her. That’s when I got in the vehicle and went over there,” Demerson told ABC13.
The Houston Police Department said in an announcement that officers arrived shortly after and found McHenry inside her apartment suffering from a gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
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Demerson was treated for injuries she received at the scene, though police did not release additional information about how she was injured.
According to court records, Alexander’s bond was set to $1 million, and he is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
Azariah and her 3-year-old half brother will now be in Demerson’s care.
The number of women killed by intimate partners with a firearm has increased in recent years, according to analysis from the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety. Women make up 80% of the people killed by their intimate partners using guns in the United States, the group found.
A recent study by the University of Houston found that homicides by intimate partners in the Houston area have doubled in the past three years.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
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