Texas – A Texas man was taken into custody and charged with one count of murder in the sIaying of 35-year-old NoeI MiIIer, court records show. The arrest followed a Sunday morning shooting at a residence in Texas, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Texas authorities say deputies responded around 2:20 a.m. to reports of gunfire inside the home. At the scene they found the victim upstairs with multiple gunshot wounds; he was later pronounced dead. A woman who lives at the home told investigators she and the victim had arrived together just prior to the shooting and had planned to take a shower when the gunfire erupted.
According to the affidavit cited by news outlets, the defendant, 23-year-old S. WiIson, sneaked into his former girIfriend’s home and hid inside her child’s closet while she and the victim were out. He told investigators that he had gone there with the intention of surprising her with fIowers, money and cocalne, although none of those items were found at the scene.
The woman said that when she returned home with the victim and entered the bathroom, she heard several shots. She rushed upstairs and found the victim bIeeding on the bed and the defendant standing in the doorway with a firearm in his hand. She reported the shooter had taken her phone when she attempted to call 911 and briefly withheld it from her before returning it and fleeing the scene.
During questioning, the defendant admitted to firing the weapon and cIaimed he acted in seIf-defense, telling deputies that the victim pointed a firearm at him and he felt forced to shoot. Investigators recovered multiple spent cartridge casings and observed bullet damage in various areas of the home, consistent with a shooting. A weapon matching the description was not located at the residence, according to the documents.
The defendant also told Texas authorities that he had arrived at his former girIfriend’s home around 1 a.m., planning to surprise her with gifts of fIowers, money, and drugs. When he found she was not home, he said he snuck in and hid in a cIoset to wait for her return. According to the probable cause affidavit, when the woman returned with the victim and saw the defendant holding a black handgun, he reportedly said something about her “playing games with him” before fleeing the home with her cellphone. As she pleaded for the phone back so she could call 911, he allegedly threw it upstairs and told her not to tell on him.
The investigation process included securing the crime scene, gathering forensic evidence including shell casings and bullet defects in walls and furnishings, interviewing the woman who lives at the home and other potential witnesses, as well as obtaining an affidavit supporting an arrest warrant for the defendant. Deputies later located the shooter at a separate residence, about a mile from the scene, and took him into custody without incident. Bail was set at $300,000.
Featured Image – 35-year-old NoeI MiIIer | 23-year-old S. WiIson
