Harris County Witness 2 Murder-Suicides In Less Than 24 Hours With Children Nearby In Both Cases

In Harris County, two murder-suicides were recorded by authorities in less than 24 hours, both of which included children nearby, ABC 13 reported.

The most recent was on Jan. 4 morning when Sheriff Ed Gonzales claimed a man in Channelview killed his common-law wife and then committed suicide.

The man's brother, 15, who was in the same small apartment unit sleeping, was the one who found them and called 911.

Living below the family for two years, Lori Graham stated, "Right now I feel like I should have done more."

"I left an abusive husband, so I know the signs and I tried. I tried to tell her, 'You need help.' Every night we would hear the banging upstairs. Now, we know it was him throwing her around against the dresser. Against this, against that," she added.

On Jan. 4 morning, her cameras captured who she and other neighbors confirm is the man grabbing his gun from his car.

As soon as he goes off cameras, four consecutive gunshots can be heard.

After that, the police showed up.

Child Protective Services is now looking after the 15-year-old.

Gonzalez said, "it's tragic that a teenager has to experience this. There is trauma that is involved in that, and we hope for the betterment of his future that he's able to get the help and support needed."

Another murder-suicide occurred in Spring, less than 24 hours apart from the Channelview incident, where Harris County deputies claim a woman shot her 6-year-old daughter.

Their remains were discovered by her other children, ages 13 and 16.

"Everybody knows how hard the pandemic hit us mentally and socially and emotionally," Christina Runnels, a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and the owner of Greater Houston Counseling Services, said.

"Unfortunately, in our state, we don't have a lot of mental health supports in place," she added.

According to Runnels, kids frequently don't know how to deal with trauma, so they just ignore it.

"I think one of the biggest things is don't tiptoe around it. Say the words. Say 'suicide,' say 'kill,' say 'die,' because when we don't, our children learn those words are scary, and we can't say them," Runnels said.