Itzell Sanchez.Photo: gofundme
The incident occurred at 2602 Westerland Drive in Houston at about 1:20 a.m., according to anews releasefrom the city’s police department.
The female victim, Itzell Sanchez, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene. The identity of the male suspect, 21, has yet to be publicly revealed, police said.
After responding to a report of an incident at the scene, HPD patrol officers found Sanchez lying on the ground suffering from gunshot wounds near the passenger side of a black Ford Mustang.
The male suspect was then found in the driver’s seat of the Mustang with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and a gun in his lap, according to the news release.
Witnesses reported hearing Sanchez’s voice and then gunshots, the HPD said.
In an interview withABC 13, Sanchez’s mother, Claudia Sanchez, said her daughter was in an abusive relationship with the man who killed her.
“He would hit her and make her feel guilty for hitting her,” the mother said. “We kept telling my daughter to stay away from this guy, he’s not good.”
Claudia told the news station that Itzell had informed her mother she was reconciling with her boyfriend, which disappointed the mother. Two days later, Claudia received a call from the HPD about Itzell’s death.
“I saw two people in those black bags and I said, ‘Is my daughter in those bags?’ and they said yes,” Claudia tearfully recalled.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Before the shooting, Itzell was at a party with her boyfriend and then the two ended up at Itzell’s friend’s apartment, Claudia said. The couple was then heard arguing just before the sound of gunshots.
“[My daughter] had a beautiful smile and now I’m never gonna see that smile again,” said Claudia.
AGoFundMe pagehas been launched to help the Sanchez family with funeral expenses. As of Thursday morning, the page has raised over $9,900 of a 15,000 goal.
Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600.
source: people.com
