HOUSTON – Hours after Houston Police released a surveillance image of a suspect wanted in the murder of a 21-year-old from Nepal, a source close to the investigation confirmed with KPRC 2 he had been taken into custody.
Police believe he’s responsible for the murder of Muna Pandey, who was found shot to death in her southwest Houston apartment on Monday evening.
He was arrested shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday on a traffic stop, the source said, after the department received some calls with information about the suspect that they were able to match with what they had already gathered in the investigation.
The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was being questioned just before 10 p.m. Charges are pending.
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Houston Police are searching for a man they believe killed a 21-year-old woman, who friends have identified as Muna Pandey, inside her southwest Houston apartment.
Pandey is from Nepal, friends told KPRC 2, who came to the United States in 2021 with just her suitcases and has been studying nursing at Houston Community College. She also worked at a local phone store.
“What I really admire about her is ... she came here alone to America, built herself a life,” her close friend of several years, who asked to remain anonymous, said. “She always believed in herself. She always had the confidence that she can do it.”
Police officers responded to her apartment at 6363 West Airport Boulevard on Monday around 5:35 p.m. after a staff member told 911 operators, they received an anonymous call reporting a body in a unit. Pandey was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
“I didn’t believe it because I was like, ‘There’s no way,’ like I just can’t imagine something happening to her,” the friend said.
Police have yet to identify the shooter but on Wednesday released this surveillance image, which is timestamped as 9:48 p.m. on Saturday evening. Detectives have not said when Pandey was last seen alive or clarified when they believe she was killed.
Pandey’s death has been ruled a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The image appears to show the suspect leaving Pandey’s apartment.
Friends told KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry they didn’t recognize the man and had “no clue” who he may be. They hadn’t heard from Pandey since Saturday and said her phone’s location stopped pinging that evening.
“I can’t even imagine or like wrap my head around what she went through when she saw a man with a gun,” the friend said.
The friend, who’s now caring for Pandey’s cat, said the cat has been scared around men and sensitive to sound.
Police said they haven’t identified a motive in the killing. Friends expressed concern that she may have been followed home from her job.
“I think that he followed her home and caught her really off guard because, like, there’s no way she, like, let someone in,” the friend said.
Friends described Pandey as cautious even about sharing her address with friends and someone who double-locked her apartment door. They said they also helped her install the surveillance camera that captured the suspect in her murder.
Neighbors told KPRC 2 they didn’t remember hearing anything.
Outside her apartment on Wednesday evening, friends brought flowers, a photo of her that said rest in peace, and a candle.
“For it to happen in her home, it’s just hard to describe,” her friend Bertin Alvarado said. “Nobody’s going to forget her and nobody can forget her. She just had that type of personality.”
Other friends who came to pay their respects were too distraught to speak on camera, but said Pandey radiated confidence that inspired others.
According to friends, Pandey’s mother is now trying to get an emergency visa to visit the U.S. and help seek justice for her daughter.
She was an only child.
Please Support for Muna Pandey's Legacy.
Posted by Nepalese Association of Houston on Wednesday, August 28, 2024
“The pain I’m going through is nothing compared to what she went through,” the friend said.
Houston Community College has not responded to KPRC 2′s request for information about Pandey’s status as a student.
Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.