Man charged with murder of Splendora woman found dead in her garage

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Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Children find mother shot to death in Splendora garage, deputies say
Deputies said the woman's ex-husband arrived at the house to drop off their 8- and 12-year-old children when they made the gruesome discovery.

SPLENDORA, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman's ex-husband and their children made a horrifying discovery last month, when they found her dead in her garage. Now authorities believe they know who killed her.

The video featured above is from a previous report.

On Wednesday, March 16, at about 5 p.m., deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office responded to a welfare check at a home in the 25500 block of White Oak Lane.

Deputies said a man arrived at his ex-wife's house to drop off their 8- and 12-year-old children when they found her in the garage. That's when he called 911.

Deputies said the woman, who was identified as 41-year-old Holly Vines, had been shot to death.

RELATED: Children find mother shot to death in garage of Splendora home, deputies say

On Tuesday, April 5, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Homicide and Violent Crimes Unit announced Jacob Otis Cavanaugh, a 40-year-old man from Goodrich, Texas, had been charged with the murder of Vines.

Cavanaugh was charged with the murder of Vines, with whom he had a relationship, when physical evidence found during the investigation, and statements he made after her murder, implicated him as the shooter authorities said.

After Vines' murder, Cavanaugh had been booked into the Montgomery County Jail for a robbery that occurred on March 15, and was being held on a $100,000 bond, according to authorities. He is now being held without bond for the murder charge.