HOUSTON – A jury has acquitted a former Harris County sheriff’s deputy accused in the murder of his wife in 2019.
Renard Spivey was facing a murder charge in connection with the death of his wife, Patricia Spivey.
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She was found shot to death at the two’s southwest Houston home in 2019.
According to court documents, Renard Spivey called 911, claiming he and his wife had been “arguing all day” and were “tussling with the gun” when it accidentally fired. The bullet hit Patricia Spivey.
During their investigation, court documents said authorities found Patricia Spivey in the far corner of the master bedroom closet. She was taken to Ben Taub Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Renard Spivey gave authorities consent to search his home while he was at the hospital, according to court documents.
According to court documents, police found a substantial amount of blood, three shell casings and a semi-automatic gun on top of a hamper near the closet door.
Police said they spoke to Patricia Spivey’s brother, Ezra Washington, who told them the couple had been arguing about the relationship and that Patricia Spivey had suspicions that Renard Spivey was “possibly back on steroids and/or having an affair, because of a lack of intimacy in their relationship,” court documents said.
Court documents revealed that Renard Spivey had called Washington three times within three hours the night before the shooting. Washington told police Renard Spivey told him that Patricia Spivey had been “counting my (low testosterone) pills, claiming that I’m sleeping with someone else.”
Renard Spivey also told Washington that Patricia Spivey had called him the “incredible Hulk” and that “at some point, she’s going to make him rise up like the Incredible Hulk and ‘it ain’t gonna be good,’” according to court documents.
When autopsy results for Patricia Spivey came back, they revealed that she had been shot twice, once in the arm and once in the chest. The medical examiner also said she had some minor bruising around her wrists.
According to court documents, the bullet went through her arm and into her chest below the right breast. The shot broke Patricia Spivey’s arm, making it unusable. In his initial 911 call, Renard Spivey claimed Patricia Spivey had shot him in the leg.
The bullet that struck Patricia Spivey in the chest went through her heart and into her lung, killing her, court documents said.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said the jury could have considered finding Renard Spivey guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter, but decided he was not guilty.
The district attorney’s office did not have a comment at this time.