Parents of murdered children pray for CT families

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- While most parents hope what happened at Sandy Hook never happens to them, the sad reality is there are parents all over our area whose children have been murdered. They've created a support network that helps them cope.

We were with parents who look forward to the third Tuesday of every month, when they know they'll be among friends who truly know what they've been through. But on this Tuesday night, their hearts ached even more.

In the basement of Grace United Methodist in the Heights, there's a group no one wants to join. But it's also one everyone is grateful exists.

"The holidays are some of the roughest times," mother Carolyn Hardin said.

Parents of murdered children met Tuesday night for their monthly meeting, not only carrying their pain of losing a child but also weighted down with more grief.

"It's been almost 15 years, I still hurt everyday of my life," Hardin said.

"It's like reliving it again, except my son was 23, and these poor innocent babies were just babies, they were angels," mother Maria Castro said.

Sure the circumstances are worlds apart. But they all can relate.

"I think about my son and I know what the mothers and fathers are going through," Hardin said.

Each mother and father here shared their story and also said a few words about the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary, starting with a prayer.

Because for most here, like Hardin, if she could be there she would.

"I'd like to just be able to hold them and tell them we're here for you," she said.

There is a chapter of Parents of Murdered Children in New York, but it's near Newtown. Parents here hope families in Connecticut will take advantage of it.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Police: Woman thought drowned was murdered

  GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- Police now say a woman whose body was found by tourists on a Galveston beach was murdered.

At about 3:15am Sunday, Galveston police were called to the 3200 block of Seawall Boulevard in reference to a possible drowning. Officers were told that three friends had been drinking and they had gone into the ocean for a swim.

Officers were also told that Jutina Silvey had stayed in the water with Michael Alicie after the other person from the group had come ashore. Mr. Alicie later exited the water and said that the couple had been swept on to the rock groin by the current and he could not find Mrs. Silvey, police say.

Galveston police, the Coast Guard, and Galveston Beach Patrol began a search of the water and shoreline. At approximately 10:30am, Silvey's body was located on a rock groin in the 3600 block of Seawall by tourists walking along the beach.

Detectives began an investigation and later determined that Silvey's death was criminal in nature, after reviewing physical evidence indicating she was beaten and strangled. The Galveston County District Attorney's Office was consulted and a warrant was filed for the arrest of Alicie.

At 10am Friday, Alicie was taken into custody at 203 Texas Ave in Texas City without incident.

Michael Anthony Alicie is charged with the murder of Jutina Silvey, 49. He was booked into the Galveston County Jail with a $100,000 bond.

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Family wants justice for murdered American hero

  Crystal KobzaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's been one year since the murder of an elderly World War II veteran, and still no arrest has been made.

It was over Labor Day weekend last year when Percy Harmon, 85, was found bound and gagged in his northeast Houston home.

"Today is most regrettable that we even had to come here today," Mervin Harmon said Saturday as the family gathered to remember his older brother and continue their search for clues.

The family was back together Saturday in the place where their loved one was brutally murdered a year ago. They drove in from Lafayette, Louisiana to hand out flyers in his northeast Houston neighborhood, hoping someone will come forward with information that will help police solve the murder.

Mervin Harmon said he wants closure for his family.

"This now has been a year, and seemingly to us, something should have been done to find somebody responsible for this," he said. "Somebody in the area knows who did this."

The family tells us the suspect or suspects broke into the back window of the house. It wasn't until days later that Harmon's body was discovered in the living room of the home.

Harmon's niece, Janice Simmons, tells us the house has been broken into three more times since her uncle's death.

"For us it just means somebody is walking around here who was able to do something like this with no conscious," she said. "And when will they do it again?"

Detectives with the Houston Police Department helped the family Saturday as they went door to door.

Officer Paul Vela says they've had only a few leads. He believes getting out in the community could help generate information on the suspect.

"In the past it has helped other cases, and I believe within time people come to their senses and say 'I'm tired of crime. I'm tired of keeping this in. I want to speak to someone,'" Vela said.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $6,000 dollars for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the killer or killers responsible for the death of Percy Harmon. Anyone with information can call 713-222-TIPS. All tipsters remain anonymous.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Crime Stoppers ups reward for info on murdered med student

Gelareh Bagherzadeh, 30, was shot to death in January inside her car just feet from her parents townhome in the Galleria.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The largest reward ever offered for a Crime Stoppers tip was announced Tuesday afternoon in Houston. The record $200,000 is being offered to help solve the murder of Gelareh Bagherzadeh, who was killed back in January.

On January 16, the medical researcher was shot outside her home near Augusta and Woodway in the Tanglewood area. Police have no idea who may have killed Bagherzadeh or why.

"It's been four months since my sister was senselessly murdered behind our home. These past four months have been unimaginably hard on all of us," said the victim's brother, Ali Bagherzadeh.

Police hope the $200,000 will prompt someone to come forward with information about the murder.

Police ask anyone with information about the murder to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

If you have information in this case, call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477) or submit tips online at http://www.crime-stoppers.org/. All tipsters remain anonymous.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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HPD: Woman brutally murdered in her apartment

Houston police were parked outside this southwest Houston apartment complex where a 27-year-old woman was found dead after a brutal attack

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police are investigating the murder of a woman in southwest Houston.

They say the parents of Altovise Mahone found her body inside of her apartment in the 14900 block of West Oaks Plaza Drive. They were concerned and went to check on her because they had not heard from her since Thursday night, officials said.

According to police, the 27-year-old was killed in a brutal attack and several of her possessions were taken, including her car.

Police are now looking for that vehicle -- a 2002 red Chevrolet Impala with license plate number BD3-B263.

Family members told police Mahone moved to the apartment complex after she was burglarized several weeks ago at another residence. They said they thought she would be safer there.

Investigators said there were no signs of forced entry at the woman's apartment.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Mom of 4-year-old allegedly murdered by her boyfriend: He was my life

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The man wanted in the death of a Houston four-year-old is in custody, and the boy's mother, who's also in jail for the death, is speaking exclusively to us.

After a tearful plea by the boy's father, Michael Allen Seaton's family in Milam County convinced him to turn himself in. Soon, he will be joining his girlfriend in the Harris County Jail.

Britni Glover is considered a high-security inmate at the Harris County Jail so she was in handcuffs when we spoke with her.

Glover says in the months that she was with Seaton, he never hit her. Instead, according to investigators, her four-year-old was the target.

Dustyn Roff got to see Santa this year, but not Christmas. His mother's will be spent behind bars. Glover is charged in connection to her son's murder. Still, she's grieving like any parent would.

"It's devastating. He's gone. He was my life. I feel completely lost," Glover said.

Glover talked to us from jail just a few hours after her boyfriend, Seaton, turned himself in. He's accused of abusing the four-year-old. Houston police say last Thursday, he was so mad that Glover came home from work late, that he beat the boy so badly he died.

Police say there were signs of repeated abuse on his body. Glover admits she had noticed bruises before but says when she questioned Seaton or her son, "there was always an excuse why he had this or that on him. He just fell when they were playing or accidents happen."

And she said she "never took him to the doctor."

Seaton fled Harris County but stayed in familiar territory, his hometown near Cameron, Texas. On Tuesday afternoon with no warning, he walked into the Milam County Jail and turned himself in.

Sheriff David Greene says for days, they had been putting pressure on Seaton's relatives to convince him to surrender.

"You never know in a situation like this, you worry about a deputy running up on him somewhere or just whatever. And for his safety and the officers' safety, I'm glad he did what he did," Greene said.

On Tuesday, we also learned CPS had two previous reports of abuse involving the mother and child but a spokeswoman says when they followed up, they could never find the two.

The manager of the apartment complex where they lived says several tenants had witnessed Seaton hitting Dustyn outside.

"It was three or four people said they actually saw him strike the child," said Candlewick Apartments manager Samuel Sanders said.

But Glover says those tenants never told her. She says she also wasn't aware of Seaton's previous conviction for abusing a two-year-old girl. He is now charged with capital murder, while she is in jail for not protecting her son and she accepts blame.

"I feel like it was my fault. I should have done something. He was my baby," Glover said.

Glover cried throughout our interview but she didn't appear to be angry with Seaton.

Police say Glover she watched as Seaton beat her child, but she didn't really answer when we asked her about the claim.

HPD homicide detectives arrived at the Milam County Jail around 5:15pm on Tuesday and they had planned on questioning Seaton before bringing him back to Harris County.

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Vigil to be held for dad found murdered outside home

 ATASCOCITA, TX (KTRK) -- A vigil was scheduled for Thursday night for a man who police say was murdered in his driveway just minutes after he had made a quick trip to return a rented DVD.

Friends and family were expected to gather around 6:30pm Thursday in the driveway where Donny Frye died. They'd like to get answers about who killed the father of three. Paul Weidenfeller still can't believe he will never share another laugh or a round of golf with his friend Frye again. "Just friends, you know, just really good friends. He was such a neat, neat guy," Weidenfeller said. Family members say Monday night, Frye went to a Redbox kiosk near his home to return a movie. Investigators say his wife fell asleep at home, only to wake up to a tragedy. "She woke up around 1:30 and he wasn't home. She went to check the kids' rooms, all that stuff, didn't see him and went to go see if his car was in the driveway, and that's when she found him," Weidenfeller said. Neighbors reported hearing a single gunshot around 9:30pm Monday. Paul Bartels lives across the street. "Very, very friendly neighborhood. We never have any trouble down here, of course just some mischief from kids, that kind of thing, but just your average American neighborhood," Bartels said. Friends say they can't imagine why anyone would want to kill Frye, a husband and a father of three. They're hoping someone will be held accountable for the crime. "It was really an honor to have known Donny for the years that I've known him, and he's going to be sorely, sorely missed by a lot of people," family friend Van Robertson said. Frye, who was the vice president of a division at DHL Global transportation company, will be laid to rest on Saturday. Friends and family are hoping someone will phone in a tip to Crime Stoppers about his death. Crime Stoppers allows people to call in anonymous tips about crimes and the chance to get up to a $5,000 reward for successful leads. The hot line number is 713-222-8477. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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Woman's body found murdered in a barrel identified

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The body of a woman found murdered in a barrel in a northwest Harris County backyard has been identified.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has identified the woman's body as Stacie Lutz, of Houston. The cause of death is listed as homicidal violence. Lutz's body was found bound and stuffed inside a barrel in October 2010. The property owner who was wanted for questioning in the crime, 64-year-old Dennis Anderson, fled and was found dead in a motel room in Florida a couple weeks later. He was reportedly hanged. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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