Police believe this was a tragic case of domestic violence. It was around 7:30pm Thursday when officers were called to reports of a double shooting at the Summer Cove apartments on FM 1959 at Gulfstream. Cole is accused in the fatal shooting of his estranged wife, Melissa Dawn Cole, 31, and her daughter, Alecia Desire Castillo, 15.
Investigators say the mother and father in this case had been separated. The mother and her daughter had recently moved to the apartment complex. The father came to the apartment last night to drop off their two-year-old and 10-year-old sons.
"When he got here with the two boys, he and the wife got into an argument and the argument escalated," said investigator H.A. Chavez with the Houston Police Department. "The 15-year-old tried to intervene. The adult female got shot, and then the juvenile was shot."
Police say the father then left the 10-year-old boy at the scene. He took the other 2-year-old with him. Neighbors say the suspect broke the back gate of the complex during his getaway, and law enforcement later caught up with him at a Wal-Mart in Wharton County.
The toddler was recovered unharmed and both sons were released to relatives. There was also a little school aged girl at the home that the mom was looking after. She was not injured.
Cole now faces capital murder charges.
