Houston man accused of breaking into girlfriend’s home, fatally stabbing her and dog
08/02/2023 2:01 pm PDT
HOUSTON (TCD) -- Police have arrested a 58-year-old man three days after he allegedly fatally stabbed his 43-year-old girlfriend at her apartment.
According to a news release from the Houston Police Department, on Saturday, July 29, at approximately 7:10 p.m., officers responded to an apartment on Sakowitz Street in reference to a woman "pleading for help." Officers and emergency personnel found the victim, identified by KPRC-TV as Melissa Fowler, and paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene from multiple stab wounds.
Officers also reportedly found the victim’s dog fatally stabbed in the bathtub and recovered bloody knives near Fowler’s body.
Police identified the woman’s boyfriend, Marques Potts, as the primary suspect.
According to KPRC, an employee at the apartment complex initially heard a woman scream and tried to knock on the unit’s door, but no one answered. The employee left, came back, and called police after allegedly witnessing a man cleaning up blood from the hallway. The man reportedly told the employee that he assaulted a woman.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage that shows Potts breaking into Fowler’s apartment at approximately 6:30 p.m. while she wasn’t home, KPRC reports. The victim reportedly returned 20 minutes later and is seen collapsing into the hallway.
Potts reportedly dragged Fowler back into the apartment as she tried to cling to the door. KPRC reports that Potts exited the home at approximately 7 p.m.
A witness reportedly reviewed the surveillance footage and recognized the suspect as Potts.
According to police, officials contacted the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, and they filed a murder charge against Potts. He remained at large until Tuesday, Aug. 1, when officers arrested him and booked him into the Harris County Jail.
Potts pleaded guilty to stabbing a different woman in 2021, KPRC reports.
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