Thread: 8 people found dead in home after standoff; suspect arrested

8 people found dead in home after standoff; suspect arrested

KHOU-TV, Houston 9:57 a.m. EDT August 9, 2015


Five children were among eight people found shot to death in a Harris County, Texas home. Authorities discovered the bodies and suspect during a welfare check. VPC


(Photo: KHOU 11)

HOUSTON — A suspect was taken into custody after five children and three adults were found dead at a home, authorities said Sunday.

Deputies called to perform a welfare check Saturday evening got no response at the door to the home when they arrived, Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Thomas Gilliland said. Officers then received more information that indicated a man in the home was wanted on a warrant for aggravated assault on a family member.

The sergeant on the scene called for a High Risk Operations Unit, similar to SWAT, to help make entry and investigate.

While the call was being placed, deputies surrounded the home and spotted the body of a juvenile through a window.

At that point, the four deputies on scene forced their way in, and the 49-year-old male suspect inside began shooting, the sheriff's office said. Deputies pulled back and waited for the HROU to arrive.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office says a man has surrendered after five kids and three adults were found dead at a home late Saturday evening. Around 9 p.m. deputies were called to a home at 2211 Falling Oaks, not far from Veterans Memorial and Fallbrook D

After more than an hour the man came outside and surrendered without further incident.

The bodies of eight people were found in the home.
"At this time we have what appears to be five children and three adults," said Thomas Gilliland, spokesman for the sheriff's office. "Ages and genders we do not have, and cause of death we do not have. The medical examiner will have to determine a cause of death."

It's not yet clear what the relationship was between the suspect and the victims.

"Homicide detectives have taken over the operation along with our crime scene unit. Due to the amount of victims and the proximity to the people in the house, it'll be a scene that's going on for a while," Gilliland said.

A motive for the crime has not been determined.

Neighbors were in disbelief Sunday.

"I cannot believe it," said Adela Ramirez. "I am in horrific shock."

Family assistance counselors were helping the deputies who answered the call "decompress," Gillilland said.

"It's a hard job being a patrolman in this town, and our deputies do a yeoman's job every day," Gilliland said. He added that counseling is important "when someone so callous could do something like this to children."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...burb/31366827/

Man charged with capital murder in deaths of 6 children, 2 adults

Updated 4 minutes ago

A dispute involving the alleged gunman and a "former domestic partner" is being cited as a possible motive in the shooting death of six kids and two adults in a Houston-area home, Texas authorities said Sunday.

Court records show that one capital murder count against David Conley covers multiple deaths. He was being held Sunday in the Harris County Jail. Bond had not yet been set for him and no attorney was listed.

“Once again a senseless tragedy has struck our community, leaving the residents of Harris County grief stricken,” Harris County Precinct 4 Assistant Chief Tim Cannon said during a Sunday news conference.

Deputies were called to the home about 9 p.m. Saturday to perform a welfare check requested by a relative, police said. Deputies later received information indicating that a man inside the home was wanted on a warrant for aggravated assault on a family member.

While waiting for a High Risk Operations Unit to arrive, deputies spotted the body of a juvenile through a window. Four deputies forced their way into the home, prompting the suspect inside to begin shooting. Deputies pulled back and waited for the operations unit to arrive. The man surrendered several hours later.

Six children -- aged 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 13 -- and two adults were found dead of gunshot wounds inside three bedrooms. Two of the kids and one of the adults who died were female. Metal handcuffs were allegedly used to restrain some of the deceased, authorities said.

Some of the dead had been shot multiple times.

“We do not and cannot comprehend the motivation of an individual that would take the lives of so many innocent people”

- Tim Cannon, Harris County Precinct 4 Assistant Chief

Conley reportedly had a prior relationship with Valerie Jackson, 40, one of the deceased, according to Sgt. Craig Clopton. Clopton said at least one of the children found dead in the house was likely fathered by Conley.

“We do not and cannot comprehend the motivation of an individual that would take the lives of so many innocent people,” Cannon said.

Court records show Conley's criminal history dates back until at least 1988, with the most recent incident last month, when he was charged with the assault of a family member. In court documents, authorities say the suspect had been arrested for allegedly assaulting the woman he was living with at the home where the bodies were found.

Court documents say that in the incident last month Conley pushed the woman's head against a refrigerator multiple times after she tried to stop him from disciplining her son with a belt. The case was still pending.

In 2013, he was charged with aggravated assault for threatening the same woman with a knife. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine months in the county jail.

In 2000, he was arrested for retaliation, accused of putting a knife to his then-girlfriend, threatening to kill her, her baby and himself. That came after she filed an assault charge for cutting her with a knife and punching her in the face. He was sentenced to five years in prison for retaliation.

Jackson had recently changed the locks on the house, but she did not have an active restraining order against Conley, Clopton said.

The area around the home was still cordoned off Sunday morning, with sheriff's deputies coming in and out of the house and the medical examiner's office having arrived at the scene. By late Sunday morning, authorities had begun removing bodies from the home.

Alan Cartagena, 19, said he was attending a barbecue at a home a couple houses away. About 11 p.m., he said, deputies started going around the neighborhood knocking on doors.

"Cops were walking around with their handguns out, telling people to remain in their houses. They were also telling them to evacuate. It was extremely scary," he said.

Cartagena said he heard one gunshot but wasn't sure if there were more.

Neighbor Dalila Mercado says when she arrived home Saturday night officers had already blocked off the area. She said she was sitting in her driveway when she heard gunshots coming from the house and officials then told her and her family to go inside their home.

Mercado said she could still see from her bedroom window and watched as a man was escorted out of the house after midnight. She said officials then had him next to her fence, taking fingerprints and photographs.

"It was shocking. I haven't slept all night," she said.

Mercado says she didn't know the residents of the house well, but would occasionally say hello to a woman and see children waiting to catch the school bus. She said she didn't recognize the man taken out of the house.

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/st...7#.Vce3DPlViko

What a horrendous story!

W

Man who killed 6 kids, 2 adults had a dispute with woman victim: police


A DISPUTE INVOLVING the alleged gunman and a ‘former domestic partner’ is being cited as a possible motive in the shooting death of six children and two adults in a Houston-area home, Texas authorities say.

Police: Changed locks led suspect to break in, kill 8

USA TODAY

- ‎1 hour ago‎

HOUSTON - David Conley told Harris County Sheriff's investigators that he broke into his former home and killed eight people because the woman he formerly lived with had changed the locks on the doors, according to a Harris County prosecutor.