Truck thief stabbed 75-year-old and squatted in her home: Sources

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A 19-year-old man who police say confessed to stabbing a woman to death at her home has been charged with capital murder.

Marco Cobos appeared in Harris County Probable Cause Court early Wednesday morning. He was arrested Monday in the death of a 75-year-old woman, who neighbors identified as Etta Nugent.

Sources tell ABC13 Eyewitness News that Cobos had been sleeping in a stolen truck from Phoenix, Arizona in the area of the 8100 block of Neff Street for at least two days prior to the stabbing.

Cobos told police he was having issues with his vehicle and asked the woman to help him. Police said that Cobos then forced his way into Nugent's home sometime Sunday night and stabbed her several times when she told him she couldn't help.

Phoenix police said the truck was stolen on May 16 from someone who knew Nugent, and was reported to officers on May 20.

"I took her chicken noodle soup, 7 o'clock Sunday night," said Sharon Shanahan, a neighbor for more than 30 years. "They think it happened shortly after that."

Shanahan and other neighbors say Nugent and her husband are pillars of the community. They were dedicated to their church across the street and took pride in their Sharpstown neighborhood.

"A gentle soul, good Christian woman. Always will do whatever for the neighborhood," said Shanahan.

Law enforcement sources told ABC13 that sometime after stabbing her, Cobos took $560 and drove the victim's Honda Accord to the store so he can buy food for himself and a new battery for the pickup.

Cobos returned to Nugent's home, where he ate his food and hung out for several hours, sources added. He also apparently used Nugent's credit card to pay his cell phone bill.

At some point on Monday, Cobos left the home once more. As of this moment, it's unclear whether he used the pickup or the Honda again.

Nugent's husband has been recovering from an illness at an assisted living facility and was not home at the time.

"Just devastated, is what comes to mind," said Council Member Mike Laster, who represents Sharpstown and has known the Nugent family for years. "Evil exists. It happens. And we are all our brother's keepers and we all need to keep an eye on each other and keep an eye on the area."

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