A Texas woman has been pronounced dead after her common-law husband shot and killed her in front of her 9-year-old daughter, police confirmed.
According to the Houston Police Department, Jasmine McHenry was found suffering from a gunshot wound after officers were dispatched to her home following a call neighbors made to report a shooting. When paramedics arrived at the scene, she was pronounced dead.
Thomas Wilson Alexander, 32, was identified as the suspect and charged with murder.
The shooting was the result of domestic violence and the victim had instructed her daughter to call her grandmother to let her know that the suspect had pulled out a gun.
“She said he was going to shoot her. That’s when I got in the vehicle and went over there,” McHenry’s mother, Cynthia Demerson, told KTRK.
Demerson immediately went to the apartment but by the time she got there, her daughter had died.
“I told the police, ‘My stepdad shot my mom,’” McHenry’s daughter said.
“Jasmine McHenry was a beautiful, bright, vibrant, hardworking, young mother of [two],” reads a statement on her GoFundMe page. “She loved her family. She did not deserve to die like this.”
Alexander is currently being held on a $1 million bond at the Harris County Jail.
“The suspect is charged with murder in the 351st State District Court,” reads a press release from the Houston Police Department. “The identity of the victim, 29, is pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences,” adding that “Subsequent investigation identified Alexander, the victim’s common-law husband, as the suspect in this incident. He was subsequently arrested and charged for his role in the shooting.”
It has not been made clear whether the suspect unclear entered a plea or retained an attorney.
McHenry is survived by her daughter and her 3-year-old son.
If you or someone you know is facing domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or visit thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential.
