Houston Man Sentenced to 65 Years for Fatally Shooting Wife After Years of Domestic Abuse

Dakari Jahi Lenear, 48, was sentenced Tuesday to 65 years in prison for the 2021 murder of his wife, 45-year-old Rhonda Lenear, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

The murder occurred on May 19, 2021, in the 9500 block of Walnut Glen Drive, north of Jersey Village. Lenear, who did not have stable employment, was home with his wife, an engineer who worked from home, and their two teenage children, who were home-schooled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the day of the murder, Lenear instructed his children to sit in the family truck with the music turned up. One of the teens, seeing Lenear with an assault rifle through the window, texted their mother, warning her that they were scared for her safety. Rhonda Lenear began recording the encounter on her phone as her husband entered the room. He told her to pray, stating that they would both be dead that day.

Dakari Lenear shot his wife multiple times. Their children called 911, and Harris County Sheriff’s deputies arrived to find Rhonda Lenear dead at the scene and Dakari Lenear in the garage. Lenear claimed self-defense, falsely alleging his wife had come at him with a knife, but the audio recording of Rhonda’s final moments disproved this claim.

Lenear had a history of threatening and abusing his wife, according to Assistant District Attorney Kelly Marshall, who prosecuted the case. “Rhonda bravely audio-recorded Lenear as he was holding an assault rifle and telling her that she would be dead by the end of the day,” Marshall said. “As the recording caught the last moments of her life, she tried to de-escalate the situation. Rhonda’s last words were the names of her children as Lenear murdered her.”

A jury was selected for the trial earlier this month, but Lenear pleaded guilty as the trial began. After two days of evidence, he was sentenced to 65 years in prison. He must serve at least 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.

District Attorney Kim Ogg emphasized the importance of the Domestic Violence Division in prosecuting cases like this, saying, “Domestic violence, like in this case, can go on for years with abuse and threats of violence. It is important that we have a Domestic Violence Division that specializes in prosecuting horribly sad cases like this and was able to get justice for the victim.”