The suspect, David Conley, 49, has been charged with three counts of capital murder after eight people, including five children were found in the northwest Harris County home.
Conley was arrested Saturday evening after a standoff with police at the residence in the 2200 block of falling Oaks, not far from the Veteran’s Memorial. Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputies had responded to the home about 9 p.m. on a welfare check.
HCSO Spokesman Thomas Gilliland says when deputies arrived at the home, no one responded to a knock on the door. Deputies were there because they received a tip indicating a man in the home was wanted on a warrant for aggravated assault on a family member.
The High Risk Operations (HRO) Unit, similar to SWAT, was called in to help in making entry into the home. While the officers were waiting for the HRO unit to arrive, deputies saw the body of a child through a window, and decided to move in, according to Ryan Sullivan, another spokesman from the sheriff’s office, according to the New York Times.
At that point, a sergeant and three deputies forced their way into the house, and Conley started shooting, according to the spokesman for the sheriff’s office. Deputies then pulled back to await the HRO team. The HRO team established contact, and after an hour of talking, the suspect surrendered without further violence.
Gilliland said deputies then found the eight bodies inside the home. “At this time we have what appears to be five children and three adults,” said Gilliland. “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,” reports KHOU.com.
Law enforcement is still investigating the relationship between Conley and the people inside the house, as well as the motive for the crime. “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.
The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Conley has a long list of arrests, including an arrest for beating his girlfriend at the home where the bodies were found. Citing court documents, the Chronicle reported that Conley had been arrested in July after the authorities said he slammed his girlfriend’s head into a refrigerator at the home. In 2013, he spent nine months in prison for assaulting the same woman.
