Mom grieves daughter's death after domestic violence led to her murder at Willow Green Apartments

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A grieving mother says she is coming to terms with the fact that a man who she had invited into her home several times before is accused of murdering her daughter.

Jackelyn Wilson, 32, was shot and killed last Wednesday inside her unit at the Willow Green Apartments near FM-1960 and SH-249.

Howard Ruffin, 39, is charged with murder in the case.

Denise Bibbs, Wilson's mother, said the pair had been together for roughly five years and had a volatile relationship.

She said her daughter broke up with Ruffin and removed his things from her apartment two days before she was killed.

Bibbs believes her daughter is ready to move on, but he cannot handle it. She planned to talk with her daughter about the breakup, but she said the murder happened first.

"I welcomed him into my home, and I treated him like a son, and he repaid me by taking my daughter from me," Bibbs said.

A nearby camera captured Ruffin entering Wilson's apartment at around 8 a.m., instantly an argument ensues, and then there are several gunshots.

Ruffin is then seen leaving. All of that happened in less than 25 seconds.

Bibbs said his daughter's 4-year-old and 7-year-old were there at the time and ran to the bus stop for help.

The woman they found went into the apartment, called 911, and tried to stop the bleeding, according to Bibbs.

"She said one of them sat right there beside her," Bibbs said.

RELATED: Only on 13: Camera recorded moment mom was shot to death in front of children in NW Harris County

The witnesses were waiting on a bus when the victim's child ran to them, stating their mother had been shot. The witnesses ran to help the mother but were too late. Now, the suspect is on the run.

When Bibbs got the call from police last Wednesday, she said she knew instantly.

"The moment he said 'Homicide detective,'" Bibbs recalls. "The first thing I (asked) was, "Did Howard Ruffin kill my daughter?'"

Several hours after the murder, Houston police said Ruffin turned himself in and was arrested.

She said she tried to get her daughter to leave Ruffin throughout the course of their relationship.

"I've told her to leave him," Bibbs said. "Leave him alone. This cannot get any better. It can only get worse. When you're in a domestic violence relationship, nobody ever thinks their partner is going to kill them because I wouldn't have thought he would have done that."

Back in 2022, Wilson was listed as a victim in a felony assault of a family member case against Ruffin.

He was arrested on that warrant in Maverick County, near the border, in May 2023.

Some kind of breakdown in communication occurred, according to local authorities, and Harris County was never notified. Ruffin was released on a $7,500 bond by Maverick County.

Harris County law enforcement said they only found out any of that happened exactly one week before her death.

"I was angry about it because they dropped the ball," Bibbs said. "They dropped the ball. The system failed my daughter."

She said she could not think about the what-ifs and how that situation might have changed things.

Bibbs said she will be at all of Ruffin's court dates.

"Every day he goes to court, I want him to see my husband and I's face," she said.

Bibbs is now raising all four of her daughter's children. Ruffin remains in jail, and his bond has not been set.

The family is raising money through gofundme. They said it will help go toward supporting Wilson's children.

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