Woman admits to killing beloved coach out of jealousy

Mycah Hatfield Image
Friday, September 27, 2019
Woman charged in killing of beloved football coach
Three years after Coach Kevin Roman was found shot to death in his Sunnyside home, a suspect has finally been charged in his murder.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A 32-year-old woman is facing charges after prosecutors said she confessed to the 2016 murder of a beloved Clear Lake football coach.

Laquinta Renee Johnson faced a judge Thursday, accused of shooting Kevin Roman to death in his home sometime around Sept. 10, 2016.

Prosecutors say Johnson, who was in a dating relationship with Roman before his death, shot him in the head, neck, chest, back and upper left arm.

Johnson told detectives she shot him because she was jealous that he was seeing other women.

Her brother was arrested with the murder weapon two days after Roman's body was found, but prosecutors say circumstantial evidence linked Johnson to the shooting. Johnson was not granted bond.

People close to Coach Roman said they knew something was wrong when he didn't show up for a football game.

"Being the person who found him in his home, I can't really speak to the weight that I have carried for the last three years," said Ledretic Davis, Roman's longtime friend and fraternity brother.

He taught for more than 10 years at Clear Lake Christian School before starting a new job at KIPP Academy. Police said Roman's body was found inside his Sunnyside home on Sparrow Street, where he may have been for a few days.

In the days before he was found, detectives said Johnson fell out of contact with Roman. He had been shot multiple times and his gray Jeep Grand Cherokee was missing.

"The kids would call him Coach Roman, but he was more than a coach," Davis said. "He took care of the kids. That was during his job and after."

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