Neighbor charged in fatal stabbing of local woman

BAYTOWN, TX Eyewitness News talked to Isaac Smith on June 17, the day 71-year-old Julia Muckleroy was stabbed in her home. Smith told us Muckleroy was like a mother, and he didn't understand why anyone would want to hurt her.

But police say that was all an act. They say Smith attacked Muckleroy because he was desperate for drug money.

"The night before he was at a local hotel using narcotics. Apparently he had run out of money, and we're able to corroborate that he left the hotel to go back to his home or neighborhood to search for money right about the time of the murder," said Lt. Eric Freed Baytown Police Department.

Investigators found Smith's DNA at the crime scene. He was arrested and charged with capital murder last night.