Babysitter killed, baby uninjured in west Houston apartment break-in

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police are investigating the death of a woman in west Houston. Ciara Brown, 28, was killed, but a child she was babysitting survived, and investigators are trying to piece the rest together.

Brown was found at Arcadia at Westheimer apartments. She was caring for a child that wasn't hers, but the baby was unharmed. Relatives of the baby took the child from police at the scene. Officers say there was an attempted break-in when the woman was killed.

"Somebody did attempt to break in, whether they got all the way in or not, it doesn't seem to be clear," said Shaun Sylvestor with HPD Homicide. "We don't know exactly what happened at the moment."

"You're selfish. You took this person's life in front of a baby," said nearby store owner Don Hilliard. "That baby can't even talk. You're a coward, a straight coward."

Witnesses reported seeing Anndrae Gilbert, Brown's ex-husband, breaking the apartment window and shooting into the apartment before fleeing the scene.

A few minutes after arriving on the shooting call, officers were notified Gilbert had checked into West Houston Medical Center with a gunshot wound. He told medical personnel he suffered the wound at the above address.

The investigation is continuing.