35-year-old man accused of beating 3 children, fatally shooting wife now charged with murder
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man accused of beating his three children and fatally shooting his wife in Houston's South Union neighborhood Thursday is now charged with murder and three counts of injury to a child.
The video above is from a previous report.
Keith Marion Lee, 35, was arrested following the attack at and around his family's home on the 5100 block of Enyart Street.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Suspect in custody after woman found shot to death and 3 children beaten on Houston's south side
Houston Police Department officers responded to an assault call in the 5100 block of Cosby Street and learned that a man, identified as Lee, was reportedly assaulting two children, an 11-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy in the street.
Officers said the two children ran to a neighbor's home for help. The eldest child reported that their father had shot their mother and pointed police to the house where the shooting occurred.
The neighbor shared a Ring doorbell video with ABC13 showing the two injured children asking for help. They told ABC13 the children were badly beaten and had swollen eyes. In the background of the video, Lee is seen on top of the roof of a nearby home.
When officers arrived at the residence, they located a 3-year-old boy with severe injuries and an unresponsive woman suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
The woman, identified by family as 32-year-old Christina Abner, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Paramedics transported all three children to an area hospital. Court documents state their injuries include a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage, and collapsed lung.
Lee was taken to a local hospital to be treated for a medical condition and will be taken to Harris County Jail once he is released, officials said.
In October, documents show Lee was arrested for harassing Abner, but the charge was dismissed. In 2010, he was arrested for reportedly hitting her. Lee pleaded no contest and received deferred adjudication.
According to Houston police, there have been three calls regarding disturbances at the home in the past six months. One resulted in the November harassment charge.
On Dec. 4, a missing person's report was filed by a woman who said her husband had been missing for 24 hours. The husband was ultimately located, and the call cleared.
"If I could offer any advice to anybody, if it's such a bad thing, just step away," Christina's brother, Brandon Abner, said.
Brandon told ABC13 the couple met because he and Lee were friends in high school.
"Anger will never bring my sister back. Hate will never bring my sister back," he told ABC13. He added, "I still forgive him because that's the heart I've got to have."
Brandon told ABC13 his niece and nephew were in the hospital with their grandmother, who they will soon live with full time. He said he's focused on teaching them and his children "what love is."
"You don't have to be loved to death," he explained.
Brandon said he feels his nieces and nephews have lost both parents and that he and his wife will "never be able to replace them."
"We're not trying to replace them. So, we're just going to try to do the best we can to give them the love that they need and do as much as we can as a family because it's going to take us to be a unit, to help everybody be okay," he added.
For more updates on this story, follow Shannon Ryan on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
