Texas Woman Stabs Mother to Death Hours After Assault Complaints Were Dismissed Due to Lack of Evidence

A Texas woman was arrested and charged with murder after she stabbed her mother to death hours after prosecutors informed police that assault charges against her will not move forward due to lack of evidence.

Houston Police Department took Ericka Nicole McDonald, 29, into custody for one charge each of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and burglary with intent to commit a felony for the death of her 51-year-old mother, Terri "Mimi" Mendoza, Law and Crime reported.

After she was stabbed, Mendoza was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Police later found blood clothes and a knife in McDonald's apartment.

Texas Woman Murdered Her Mother

Ericka Nicole McDonald, wearing a mask to hide her face, allegedly broke into Mendoza's apartment at Willow Place Drive past 9 p.m. on Monday by climbing through the front window.

Investigators said the Texas woman then started stabbing both her mother and her 63-year-old aunt, who was also in the apartment at the time.

Police said McDonald got into an argument with her mother and aunt before the stabbing, ABC 13 reported. One witness claimed that the suspect could be seen doing CPR on Mendoza moments after she stabbed her mother.

Investigators said that McDonald fled the scene after the attack. However, she returned to the apartment and told authorities that she was not involved.

Her aunt was able to testify despite McDonald wearing a mask during the attack. The detective said the Texas woman was under the impression that the mask hides her identity.

An official said that McDonald was intoxicated when she broke into the residence. The official added that officers found the knife used inside the Texas woman's residence, as well as clothes and shoes, indicating her involvement.

On the day of the stabbing incident, police were called that afternoon and they wanted to arrest McDonald on assault and child endangerment. However, it did not push through due to lack of evidence, the Miami Herald reported. The Texas woman reportedly lived with her children in a neighboring apartment.

Texas Crime Rate

The state of Texas has reported more than 805,879 crimes in 2019, which equates to 2,779 crimes for every 100,000 people, according to a Houston-Criminal Attorney fact sheet.

There were also 4,838 assaults on police officers in the same year, which reports a 4.8 percent increase compared to the previous year. Murder rates also increased by six percent from 2018, with a total of 1,403 murders reported in 2019.

Meanwhile, reported rape cases decreased by 1.6 percent. It totaled 14,656 rape cases in 2019. The high rates of crime in the state also came with high unemployment rates, resulting in generally higher poverty rates.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Texas also led the nation on active shooter events in 2019. Texas had six of the nation's 28 active shooter incidents, killing 36 people and wounded 52 others.

Recidivism was a contributing factor in the violent crime upticks, with examples of violent offenders committing additional violent crimes soon after they were released from incarceration, according to a Department of Public Safety 2019 report.

Harris County reported in 2019 that 74.59 percent of those who were convicted for felony cases had previous felony charges.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

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