HOUSTON – A man was charged with murder on Tuesday after being accused of stabbing his girlfriend and her puppy to death in northeast Houston.
Marques Potts, 58, was arrested in the murder of 43-year-old Melissa Fowler. He has a lengthy criminal record and pleaded guilty to stabbing another woman in 2021. The stabbing happened at an apartment complex in the 2400 block of Sakowitz Street on July 29.
Authorities have video that captured some of the incident.
According to a warrant, police said they saw Potts break into Fowler’s apartment around 6:30 p.m. with a tool.
Then, Fowler went into her apartment around 20 minutes later. She later fell into the hallway outside of the apartment and had several injuries on her chest. Police said Potts pulled her back inside while she tried to hold onto the door.
Potts then left the apartment around 7 p.m.
Authorities said the woman was stabbed in the back and her chest, and her dog was also stabbed to death and found in her bathtub.
Law enforcement also found bloody knives inside the apartment near Fowler’s body.
On the night of the crime, an employee at the apartments said they heard a woman screaming for help.
The sounds were coming from an apartment. According to a warrant, the employee went to the apartment and knocked but no one answered. They left and later returned to the apartment and saw what appeared to be a man cleaning blood from the hallway floor.
The employee told police the man said he beat the woman. The employee then called authorities.
A witness also saw the footage of the incident and identified the suspect as Potts.
I feel a lot safer knowing that he is incarcerated,” said neighbor, Stephen Caldwell.
Police said neighbors and staff heard Potts’ girlfriend screaming for help inside the New Hope Housing apartments Saturday night.
“I heard two screams. It wasn’t as loud as you would think. I remember that I wanted to get up and see what was going on but I figured it was none of my business. I feel real bad that I didn’t,” said Caldwell.
Records show an employee noticed Potts cleaning up what appeared to be blood in the hallway. When she asked Potts what happened, he told her, “I just whooped her ***. Potts took off before police arrived. Officers found Potts girlfriend with multiple stab wounds inside the apartment. Her puppy was found stabbed in the bathtub.
KPRC 2 spoke with a neighbor on the phone who wants to remain anonymous.
“The day leading up to the murder, he (Potts) was strange. Real strange. He tried to talk to me about it. I hate that I didn’t talk to him,” the neighbor said.
She said Potts was violent towards his girlfriend days before her death.
“When I told her I was going to call the law, she said no, no, no. Ok if he does it again, I’m going to call the law. But he didn’t do it again, he took her life,” the neighbor said.
She said she regrets not calling police.
“I regret allowing her to make the decision, yes I do. I just want for everyone to know, women to know that they do not have stay in that type of environment, in a relationship with someone that is hurting them. Whether its verbally or physically,” the neighbor said.
A spokesperson with New Hope Housing sent KPRC 2 a statement saying in part:
“We deeply regret the murder of one of New Hope’s residents due to intimate partner violence. Our thoughts are with the victim’s friends and family as they grieve this loss. Incidents onsite are met with care and concern by staff.
Due to the nature of their relationship, the victim had given Mr. Potts voluntary access to the apartment prior to the incident on Saturday. Domestic violence is a systemic issue, and every tragedy reminds us that violence, power and control dynamics, and abuse are everywhere ― no matter someone’s housing, socioeconomic status, age or race. This is an issue that we all grapple with as a society ― our residents are no different. We all need to be informed that relationships do not have to include abuse or violence of any kind. We are working closely with Houston Area Women’s Center to strengthen our ability to ensure any resident who might be in an abusive situation has access to life saving services. We work with our staff and partners to help residents recognize if they, or someone they know, is in an abusive relationship and how to help them understand their options.”