Tag Archives: murder

A crime threefer

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston on pace to post 20% decline in homicides in 2023 Houston’s homicide rate is down 20% compared to the year before, outpacing a historic decline in killings nationwide. The city logged 339 homicides thorough Dec. 18, down from 425 … Continue reading →

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Crime continues to decline in Houston

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. Don’t let it get in the way of any campaigns. Houston was part of a nationwide decline in most crime statistics in major cities, leading one crime data analyst to say the trend shows that it … Continue reading →

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Houston’s violent crime rate drops in 2023

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday touted his crime initiative as the reason behind a double-digit year-to-year reduction in violent crime in the first quarter of 2023, but experts say the figures mirror wider national trends and warned … Continue reading →

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Ronald Haskell convicted

Posted on September 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but nothing can undo the damage he did. Cassidy Stay, the lone survivor of a 2014 shooting that killed her mother, father and four younger siblings, folded her hands in prayer inside a courtroom while awaiting a verdict. The … Continue reading →

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No, crime is not up in Houston

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Facts are stubborn things. Like the rest of the country, crime in Houston has plummeted over the last 30 years, as has residents’ fear of crime being the city’s most pressing problem. FBI data show that most categories of crime … Continue reading →

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The harder question

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This story just upsets me so much. After a man posing as a FedEx deliveryman forced his way into her family’s house and fatally shot her parents and four siblings, 15-year-old Cassidy Stay played dead until the killer fled the … Continue reading →

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David Temple convicted again

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

New trial, same result. A Harris County jury on Tuesday convicted David Temple of murder in the 1999 death of his pregnant wife, opening the door for the former Katy-area football coach to be sent back to prison several years … Continue reading →

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It’s about the domestic violence

Posted on November 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

You want to do something to reduce gun violence, here’s the place to start. Domestic violence cases have risen sharply across the state, with more than 210,000 wives, girlfriends, husbands and others suffering death or injury at the hands of … Continue reading →

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Abbott pushes for hate crime status for targeted killing of police officers

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Gov. Greg Abbott wants the targeted killing of a police officer to be deemed a hate crime in Texas and urged lawmakers to send him such a bill to sign … Continue reading →

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Violence against transgender people

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There’s way too much of it. For a few transgender Americans, this has been a year of glamour and fame. For many others, 2015 has been fraught with danger, violence and mourning. While Caitlyn Jenner made the cover of Vanity … Continue reading →

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Jon Buice granted parole

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This stirs up a lot of emotions. Jon Buice, serving 45 years in state prison for the 1991 gay-bashing murder of Houston banker Paul Broussard, has been granted parole. Buice, 42, was one of 10 youths from The Woodlands who … Continue reading →

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How many crimes does your police department solve?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Fewer than you think, unfortunately. Violent crime in America has been falling for two decades. That’s the good news. The bad news is, when crimes occur, they mostly go unpunished. In fact, for most major crimes, police don’t even make … Continue reading →

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RIP, Randy Ertman

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve lived in Houston long enough, this story will bring back a flood of memories and emotions. Randy Ertman, a house painter who became a blunt-spoken, combative advocate for crime victims’ rights after his daughter and another teen were … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick is lying about immigration and crime

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s what the headline to Peggy Fikac’s column should be, but she took the easy way out. At a forum where statewide candidates strutted their stuff for leading business groups, Sen. Dan Patrick could have focused on pretty much any … Continue reading →

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We must destroy the pensions in order to save them

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s so much wrong with this I almost don’t know where to begin. Houston is the Titanic – it certainly looks impressive, but icebergs lie ahead. That’s the image that mayoral candidate Ben Hall drew when he talked to the … Continue reading →

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On Jon Buice and Paul Broussard

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Grits has a provocative guest post from Michael Berryhill, an author and journalism professor, about the murder of Paul Broussard, the way it has been portrayed by the media, and the effort of convicted killer Jon Buice to win parole … Continue reading →

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Elsewhere in the House

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

No action on transportation yet. House budget writers on Tuesday ended a hearing on transportation funding with no clear decision about how to raise money for Texas roads. The House Appropriations Committee is considering several proposals to see which has … Continue reading →

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Court of inquiry concludes

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The court of inquiry that was examining the behavior of then-prosecutor Ken Anderson has concluded with Anderson’s testimony in his defense. Having seen what he had to say for himself, I find myself not terribly sympathetic to him or his … Continue reading →

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The court of inquiry

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Going on this week is a court of inquiry in the matter of Williamson County Judge Ken Anderson, who was the District Attorney that won a conviction against Michael Morton for the murder of his wife, Christine, which as we … Continue reading →

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Murder by numbers continued

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There are two ways to look at this. Houston averaged slightly more than four murders a week during 2012, unofficial figures indicate, inching up from 2011 when the total dropped to the lowest point since 1966. In unincorporated Harris County, … Continue reading →

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The murder rate is the same as it was last year

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no evidence to suggest otherwise at this time. Though Houston is not in any danger of reclaiming the unenviable title of “murder capital of the United States,” murders in the city jumped 17 percent during the first six months … Continue reading →

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