HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Deputies are investigating an apparent murder-suicide after a woman and her 6-year-old daughter were found dead inside a home in north Harris County Tuesday afternoon.
The discovery was made by the woman’s two teenage children at the home in the 1800 block of Vernal Glen Circle around 1:49 p.m.
Preliminary reports indicate the victims appear to have sustained possible gunshot wounds.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the mother was last seen by her two other children, a 13-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy, on Monday evening. The teenagers were gone and when they returned, they assumed the mother was in her room asleep before finding their mother and younger sibling.
Gonzalez said it appears that the woman was having marital problems with the 6-year-old girl’s father. He said the couple had been separated since October and that the woman had been depressed for several months and struggling with her mental health.
The deceased child’s father travels for work and was gone a lot, the sheriff said.
The mother and child identities have not been released.
@HCSOTexas units responded to an incident at the 1800 blk of Vernal Glen Circle. Preliminary: an adult female and a female child (possibly 6), with possible gunshot wounds, have been found deceased. Investigators, Commanders, and PIO are enroute. #HouNews pic.twitter.com/c4smweFYVW
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) January 3, 2023