Mother of wanted man in dating site murder: "It does not sound like my son"
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The mother of a man wanted in connection to a nurse's murder and a college student's disappearance spoke out to ABC13.
In a brief phone call, Jerrett Jamal Allen's mother said she first learned the details Tuesday morning by reading online news articles.
"Like I said, it does not sound like my son," said the mother. "The only thing that I can tell you is it does not sound nothing like my nephew and nothing like my son. Okay."
The woman quickly shied away from releasing any details about her 26-year-old son. She said she hasn't spoken to Allen.
She wouldn't say whether she believed her son is capable of murder.
"I rather not talk about that right now. Okay," said the woman by telephone.
Harris County Detectives told Eyewitness News, Allen is now on the run and hiding from the law. They want to question him in the disappearance of missing University of Houston student An Vinh Nguyen.
VIDEO: Timeline of Glenser Soliman, An Nguyen disappearances
They said Allen used the 26-year-old's credit cards in El Paso in April. Texas Department of Public Safety records show Allen has been arrested twice in the state. In 2016, Arlington police arrested him for drug possession. In 2014, Fort Worth police arrested him for stealing DVDs from a Walmart store.
Prosecutors recently charged Allen's cousin, Brandon Lyons, with capital murder. They said Lyons beat and strangled 44-year-old Glenser Soliman to death. He was a beloved nurse at St. Luke's in the Texas Medical Center.
ABC13 could not find any criminal record for Lyons. Both Lyons and Allen are from Louisiana.
Homicide investigators believe Allen and Lyons lured the men on dating websites or hook up apps. They suspect the motive was robbery. Detectives would not specify the sites or say whether either was on the popular gay app Grindr.
Nguyen's family told Eyewitness News the student is gay, but did not talk openly about his sexuality. His body has not been found despite extensive searching by Texas EquuSearch.
Authorities presume Nguyen is dead.
Soliman's family has said very little publicly since his body was found in Spring. Repeated requests for comment have gone unanswered. In February, the family said Soliman lived by himself, described him as dependable and said he often could be found at church.
Detectives said they suspect there are more victims tied to Allen and Lyons.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.
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