HOUSTON, TEXAS: A Texas public school special education teacher is accused of fatally shooting his wife while she was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher.
James Paul Anderson, 37, now faces charges related to the killing of his 34-year-old wife who has been identified as Victoria Lynn Anderson in court documents.
According to the Houston Police Department, the harrowing incident took place at a residence in the 4300 block of Vista Ridge Rd in Kingwood just before 5 pm on Sunday, September 24, while the victim was on the phone with the emergency dispatcher and while the couple’s three-year-old son was inside the home.
Why was the victim on the emergency call?
Authorities said that Victoria said on the 911 call that her husband was threatening to shoot her after which the dispatcher heard a gunshot, ABC 13 Houston reports.
“Officers were dispatched to a shooting call at the residence at the above address and were advised that a female inside the home called 911 stating her husband threatened to shoot her. The call-taker reported hearing a gunshot while on the phone with the woman,” police said.
The suspect apparently took his own son hostage
Police said they needed to send hostage negotiation and SWAT teams to the crime scene as the suspect refused to come out of the home with his son. However, the suspect let the young boy leave, authorities noted.
“Officers arrived and asked for the husband to step outside the house. He refused to do so, but allowed the couple’s son, three, to exit the house,” the Houston Police Department said, adding: “After several hours of negotiations, the suspect surrendered to officers without further incident.”
What did the police do after entering the residence?
Police and emergency medical personnel found the victim dead inside the residence after they swarmed the homicide scene. “The child was taken to an area hospital for observation,” police noted.
A brief complaint, the charging instrument in the case, alleged that Anderson “on or about September 24, 2023, did then and there unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly caused the death of Victoria Lynn Anderson, hereinafter called the Complainant, by shooting Victoria Lynn Anderson with a deadly weapon, namely a firearm.”
The complaint also accused Anderson of unlawfully intending to “cause serious bodily injury” by “intentionally and knowingly committing an act clearly dangerous to human life, namely shooting Victoria Lynn Anderson.”
The victim shared a birthday post for his son in June
Victoria Anderson posted on Facebook wishing a happy 3rd birthday to her son in early June, whom she described as her “best bud and light of my life.” She also took the boy to school for the first time. “Took my baby to school today for the first time. He was fine, I was not. 😭😭” Victoria wrote, tagging her husband on the post.
The victim leaves behind her parents, brother, and young son.
What did the Cleveland Independent School District say?
After news of the Santa Fe Middle School special education teacher’s arrest came out, the Cleveland Independent School District (ISD) said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened to hear of the tragic domestic violence situation involving one of [its] staff members.”
According to the school district, James Anderson was placed on administrative leave and reiterated that the fatal shooting “occurred domestically and did not take place on campus.”
The suspect has been ordered not to contact the victim's family
As per court records, Anderson has been ordered not to contact Victoria Anderson’s family and not to contact two men (seemingly witnesses) within 200 feet of their residences or places of work.
The suspect was further ordered to be tested for drugs and alcohol, hand over his passport, remain in Harris County and its “contiguous counties,” and told not to use or possess a firearm or ammunition.
The defendant cannot use cannabis or “any controlled substance or dangerous drug” unless he has a lawful prescription, and he “must not use, possess or consume alcohol” — since “[f]acts giving rise to probable cause suggest that alcohol was a factor in this offense.”
Anderson would also have to submit to electronic monitoring and observe a curfew from 7 pm to 5.30 am every day of the week if he gets released. Harris County Jail records show Anderson is in custody on a $300,000 bond as of Tuesday morning.
