Grandmother raising 6 kids after Navy recruiter killed their mother breaks her silence

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The family of a mother of six who was killed by her Navy recruiter husband in 2022 is speaking out for the first time.

READ RELATED: Military recruiter identified after allegedly killing wife while she held child, injuring NCIS agent

In September 2022, Takara Hightower was in her home, talking with a Naval investigator about allegations of domestic violence, when her husband barged in, shot, and killed her. Gregory Hightower then engaged in a shootout with an NCIS officer before being killed by local law enforcement during a standoff later in the late.

Now, the grandmother raising Takara Hightower's kids is finally speaking out.

"I try to stay focused, mainly on the kids, because that keeps me going," Chinetha Glenn said, fighting back tears. "I know that's hard on them because they don't have their mom."

Chinetha was living in Illinois when her daughter Takara Hightower was killed. She dropped everything, moved to Texas, and is now raising Takara's children. Five are living at home, while the oldest is in college.

"I want answers. I want justice for my child," Glenn said.

The Glenn family said in July 2022, Takara contacted local law enforcement about being abused by her husband, Navy recruiter Gregory Hightower. No criminal charges were ever filed. Then, a week before her death, Takara filed an abuse complaint with the Navy. That led to the Navy separating the couple for a week, with Gregory forced to live elsewhere. Family members say the investigation was ongoing up to the moment Gregory barged into their house and opened fire.

Takara was killed while holding her 1-year-old baby in her arms.

"So, they failed to remove the guns, they failed to provide protection to her, and even while she had officers with her, he was allowed to access the home with his guns and came in and shot her," Laurie Higginbotham, the Glenn family attorney who just filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Navy, said.

Higginbotham says the family filed the lawsuit because they felt the Navy could have protected Takara, but failed.

"Other families like Takara's family need help. When they're seeking help from the Navy and Army, we need to hold them accountable."

"It won't bring her back," Tamra Glenn, Takara's older sister, who is also helping to raise the kids, said. "It won't bring her back, but I wanted to bring awareness to anybody dealing with something like this."

ABC13 has contacted the Navy's Public Affairs Office. We are still waiting for a response.

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