Wife Charged With Murder After 74-Year-Old Husband Found Shot at Houston Apartment

HOUSTON, Texas – A woman has been charged with murder after her 74-year-old husband was found shot to death inside an apartment near North Shore Park, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded at approximately 6:44 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, to an in-progress call at the Pines of Woodforest Apartments, 90 Uvalde Road.

Inside the apartment, deputies found Juan Cruz Cairo dead with apparent gunshot wounds.

Harris County homicide detectives and crime scene investigators responded and began investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, investigators determined that a domestic dispute had occurred between Cairo and his wife, Tamara Victoria Cruz, 50. Authorities said Cruz shot her husband during the altercation.

Detectives reported finding several inconsistencies between Cruz’s account of what happened and the physical evidence collected during the investigation. The Sheriff’s Office did not disclose what Cruz initially told investigators or describe the evidence authorities said contradicted her account.

Investigators presented the case to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, which accepted a murder charge against Cruz in connection with Cairo’s death.

Detectives said they found no previous history of reported domestic violence involving the couple.