The family of 39-year-old Colencia Davidson is grieving and demanding justice after the devoted mother of ten was gunned down in what authorities are calling a brutal act of domestic violence.
Davidson, a correctional sergeant and mother, was just days away from turning 40 when she was allegedly ambushed and killed by her longtime partner, Thomas Sonnier, 44, outside her home in Houston on May 4.
According to KHOU 11, Davidson had just returned from a night out with friends when Sonnier, lying in wait inside her garage, opened fire. Investigators say she was shot 12 times in front of her home—where three friends were also present and some of her children were inside.
“She loved her children. Her children were her top priority. Everything she did was for them,” said her cousin, Cassandra Davidson. “She was a good, positive person.”
Police say Sonnier, the father of nine of Davidson’s ten children, fled the scene on video after the shooting. He was later arrested and is being held on a $1 million bond. While he has denied involvement in the crime, he is expected back in court later this month.
Detectives described the couple’s 20-year relationship as marked by physical abuse. According to Davidson’s family, she had recently ended the relationship in a step toward reclaiming her happiness.
Now, her children are left without their mother, and her loved ones are calling attention to the dangers women face when trying to leave abusive relationships.
The case has ignited renewed concern about intimate partner violence and its devastating consequences—especially for Black women, who studies show face disproportionately high rates of fatal domestic abuse.
The community and Davidson’s family are seeking not only justice but also awareness, in hopes that no more mothers, daughters, or sisters will suffer the same fate.
