A convicted killer has been charged in a 2013 cold case murder after Houston police reviewed the case and found DNA evidence linking him to the crime.
According to a source close to the investigation, 52-year-old Raymond Lincoln allegedly stabbed Erick Shears multiple times while he was sitting on the toilet and investigators found messages between the two men that implied a relationship between them.
Court records show charges against Lincoln were filed on Friday, more than 10 years after the January 2013 murder.
“I always prayed about it. I always wondered, you know, ‘Hey, Lord ... this can be possible,’” Shears’ cousin Natasha Simmons told only KPRC 2.
Shears would have been 53 years old this year. He was a father, family man, and friend to many.
“He was funny, he was witty. He loved to cook. He loved to have family functions,” Simmons said.
Shears told his family he was bisexual and his uncle, Curtis Anderson, knew about the man accused of his murder getting involved in his life.
“From what he told me about this guy and him meeting this guy, I told him I wouldn’t mess with that type of guy,” Anderson said. “He was telling me about this dude, and he’s already telling me that the dude was trying to boss him around.”
After family members hadn’t heard from Shears for a few days, Anderson went to his West Houston apartment on Fountainview Drive and made the gruesome discovery.
“When the door flew open, I looked down, and I see blood on the floor,” Anderson said. “He was laying in the tub, crossways in the tub. I seen his feet first. I [thought] that he fell off the toilet.”
Shears was in the early stages of decomposition, dead in his own apartment, but no one was held responsible.
“We thought it was just going to be a cold case,” Simmons said.
The family got a call this week after homicide detectives with the Houston Police Department reviewed the case and found DNA evidence linking Lincoln to the murder.
In addition to messages found between the men implying a relationship, Lincoln may have been staying with Shears for some period of time, according to a source close to the investigation. Lincoln allegedly claimed unwanted sexual advances which led to a fight and struggle over a knife.
The circumstances of the 2013 murder are extremely similar to those of a 1992 murder for which Lincoln was convicted, according to the source. The victim in that case was also a male and Lincoln also claimed unwanted sexual advances.
“It makes me wonder how many other people that maybe he has done this [to],” Simmons said.
While Lincoln was in jail for unrelated charges of aggravated assault, Houston police said in a news release that homicide detectives interviewed him about Shears’ death and he allegedly admitted to being involved.
“I love him, and I miss him. I miss him very much,” Simmons said.
After such a long wait, his family is now ready for swift justice.
“He’s living in his own hell. They’re just going to put him in a cage now,” Anderson said.
Lincoln is being held on a $150,000 bond for the murder charge.
Police are asking anyone who may have information about other cases involving Lincoln to call homicide detectives at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.