woman killed

19-year-old jailed for Alief-area murder case now accused of killing woman in SW Houston, police say

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Woman found dead inside car at apartment complex in SW Houston, police say

A woman was found dead inside a vehicle at an apartment complex parking lot on Nobility Drive near W. Bellfort in southwest Houston on Friday morning.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man who was already facing other murder counts has been charged with murder in the deadly shooting of a 19-year-old woman in southwest Houston back in April.

Jusiayn Jhoria Jahze Bennett, also 19, was arrested and booked into the Fort Bend County Jail on unrelated capital murder charges, Houston police said.

The video above is from a previous report.

Police responded to a call of a person down at an apartment complex parking lot at 11503 Nobility Drive at 7:20 a.m. on April 14.

At the scene, they found the victim, later identified as 19-year-old Crystal Soto, dead with multiple gunshot wounds inside her vehicle.

Investigators believe the shooting happened at about 7 p.m. on April 13, about 12 hours before Soto's body was found.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Woman found dead inside car at apartment complex in SW Houston, police say

Further investigation determined there were three suspects responsible for Soto's death, HPD said. Bennett was identified as one of those suspects and was charged for his role in the shooting.

Two unidentified suspects are still sought by police, HPD said.

Although HPD did not provide further details about Bennett's capital murder charges out of Fort Bend County, according to a previous report from ABC13, he was charged with murder in the shooting death of a 28-year-old man in the Alief area on May 25.

Police said Bennett killed the victim and stole his vehicle. The victim was reportedly found with his pockets turned outwards.

After the man was found dead at an apartment complex at 9903 South Dairy Ashford Road, police later spotted Bennett and two other suspects in the victim's stolen vehicle, leading to a chase that ended in a crash in Sugar Land, HPD said.

Anyone with information on the identities of the wanted suspects in Soto's death is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.