Man, woman identified after murder-suicide inside lobby of Marriott Marquis Houston hotel

HOUSTON – The man and woman who died in a shooting inside the lobby of a hotel in downtown Houston have been identified.

The woman has been identified as Jenna Soderberg, 27. The man is Sherrick Byrd, 39.

Word about their identities comes after the shooting Tuesday at the Marriott Marquis Houston Hotel located at 1777 Walker Street around 3:30 p.m.

According to Houston police chief Troy Finner at the time of the shooting, a man described then as in his late 30s shot a woman in her early 20s to death before turning the gun on himself.

Finner said they arrived at the hotel in separate vehicles but met inside of the lobby and looked to be having a conversation with one another before the shooting.

According to an attorney who has represented Byrd in the past, Byrd and Soderberg had a relationship that dates back several years.

“Really tragic, it’s just a tragedy,” said Austin based defense attorney Amber Vazquez.

Vazquez represented Byrd in a 2018 assault case in which Soderberg accused Byrd of hurting her.

According to court documents obtained by KPRC 2, the assault allegedly happened in the apartment the couple shared together in Austin.

A neighbor reported the assault after Soderberg told him that Byrd beat her up before taking her cellphone and passport.

According to documents, Soderberg had bruises all over her body.

The document goes on to state that Soderberg estimated that Byrd assaulted her at least two dozen times. She accused Byrd of punching, kicking and stomping on her as well as hitting her with a belt.

Vazquez said Soderberg was also accused of violence that stemmed from her relationship with Byrd.

“I think both of them had a very toxic situation together so, unfortunately, I was not completely shocked,” said Vazquez.

Vazquez last spoke to Byrd about a week ago.

“He seemed to be in good spirits and alright and at the time he was up in Dallas. I had high hopes that they would be willing to move through this and it’s really sad,” she told KPRC 2.

Witnesses Melina Jara and Peter Maher said they were visiting from Virginia when they decided to stop by the hotel’s gift shop and then heard gunshots.

“Five seconds later, we see this employee run into the gift shop. She starts locking the door. “We have to hide. We have to hide. There’s like an active shooter in the lobby,’” Jara said. “So we had to hide in the storage closet.”

Another witness, Chuck Anderson, said he was in the Starbucks.

“All you heard was ‘Pow!’ And then the hotel manager came out,” Andersen said.

Kayla McCadney, who lives downtown, said she spent Labor Day weekend at the pool at the hotel on Monday. On Tuesday, she said she was taking her daily walk around Discovery Green when she heard about the horrific shooting.

“To see this today, on my normal walk, when I’m kind of trying to get back on my routine from my normal weekend, it’s really shocking,” McCadney said.

Watch the full HPD presser below: