HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A man has been arrested and charged with capital murder after a woman was found dead in a home in northwest Harris County on Friday.
The victim was found shot to death at a home on Beechmoor Drive in the Hearthstone neighborhood. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said a loved one had not heard from her, so he went to her home to check on her, and that’s when the victim was found dead. There were also obvious signs of damage to the front door, according to court records.
Based on surveillance video, police believe the victim was shot and killed sometime after 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to court documents, though her body wasn’t discovered until Friday.
The suspect, 42-year-old Christopher Braziel, waived his probable cause court appearance overnight. His charges were still read.
According to the defense, Braziel refused to give the public defender any information and didn’t authorize them to represent him during his bail hearing.
During the hearing, the state requested a $3 million bond for the capital murder charge. The court ultimately decided to deny bail altogether.
According to details read at court, Braziel allegedly shot the woman multiple times with a firearm that had an extended magazine.
Police reportedly used video footage from a witness’s cellphone to identify Braziel.
Deputies did not immediately release any information about the motivation behind the shooting or how Braziel and the victim knew each other.
Braziel also lived in the Hearthstone neighborhood.
News spread quickly of his arrest Sunday, and a woman who spoke to ABC13 anonymously for her safety said she showed her husband Braziel’s photo.
“I could see by the look on his face; he just looked pale and frightened,” the woman said. “I said, ‘What’s going on?’ He was like, ‘You need to sit down and look at this.'”
She said her husband showed her footage from their surveillance cameras the day before when he was home alone.
The footage shows a man, now identified as Braziel, driving by the family’s home once. He returned later, parked, and walked up their driveway armed with a gun loaded with an extended magazine.
He got to their garage, turned around, and left. About 45 minutes later, the family said he returned with the gun in his waistband, went into their garage, opened the door to their home and closed it.
On surveillance video, the male homeowner can be heard asking Braziel if he was looking for someone. He replies that he is ‘at the wrong house’ and drives off.
The couple said they do not know Braziel or know with certainty why he would be at their home.
“Just knowing that my entire world could be different today. I have to keep moving it out of my mind because I keep bursting into tears randomly thinking of what my son and I could have walked home to because we got home 15 minutes after the last time he left,” the woman said.
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