HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A man has been arrested, accused of shooting and killing a woman at a northwest Harris County home.
Christopher Braziel, 42, is charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Heather Smith. He is currently in custody at the Harris County Jail.
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Smith was found dead in her home on Beechmoor Drive by her boyfriend on Friday. She had been shot multiple times.
We first learned of Braziel’s arrest from a tip via the KPRC 2 Help Desk, which we were then able to confirm through court documents.
According to court documents, Smith’s boyfriend came to check on her after she didn’t respond to his text messages or phone calls. When he arrived at her home, he found the front door had been kicked in and Smith was lying on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds.
The documents say detectives with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office reviewed surveillance video from a neighboring home and saw a silver Chevrolet Silverado and a man between the vehicle and the home’s front door. The videos were from Thursday, the day before Smith was found.
Law enforcement were able to use the license plate number seen on the video to identify Braziel and also used the home’s security system to get the times the doors were opened.
The documents say using the Xfinity App, which was linked to the home’s alarm system, law enforcement was able to get several more videos which showed the suspect pulling into Smith’s driveway a few minutes after she pulled in. The videos showed the suspect approaching the home with a gun sticking out of his pocket. The gun also had an extended magazine. He can be seen pacing outside the home before the video stops.
In a second video from a few minutes later according to the documents, the suspect can be seen running from the home. He goes back inside the home a second time, coming out again, and then going back in a third time. The final time he comes out, the video shows him adjusting his waistband area near where his gun was. He then gets in the truck and drives away.
The documents say Saturday, detectives spotted the Chevrolet Silverado that matched the license plate number of the truck seen in the surveillance videos. The truck was traveling at a high rate of speed through the same neighborhood where the murder took place.
The documents say the detectives conducted surveillance on the truck and found it parked in the address where it was registered to. Braziel was seen getting out of the truck, wearing the same clothes he was seen wearing on still photos from the home where the crime occurred. He was also seen carrying a black handgun with an extended magazine, according to the documents.
To send a tip or to submit questions or concerns via the KPRC 2 Help Desk, click here.