A Texas man allegedly told police he killed his wife because she didn’t take his back pain seriously. The couple’s three young children — ages 3, 8, and 13 — were inside the house when the shooting happened.
ATexas man is behind bars after allegedly shooting and killing his wife inside their home — and then telling police he did it because she didn’t take his chronic back pain seriously enough.
Jose Romero, 43, was charged with murder following the May 2 killing of his wife, Yanira Marin de Romero, 39. According to Harris County authorities, Romero shot his wife multiple times while she was in the bathroom of their Cloverleaf home — a suburb in the Houston metro area. Their three children were home at the time.
Key facts
- Victim: Yanira Marin de Romero, 39
- Suspect: Jose Romero, 43, charged with murder
- Location: Cloverleaf, Harris County, Texas
- Date: Saturday, May 2, around 1 p.m.
- Three children (ages 3, 8, 13) were home; none were hurt
- Romero called 911 himself after the shooting
Investigators say the couple had been arguing when Romero opened fire. He reportedly called 911 himself, told dispatchers what he had done, and was taken into custody without resistance when deputies arrived. During questioning, Romero told homicide detectives his reason: she hadn’t taken his back pain seriously.
“They were a marriage I could call almost perfect. They only had each other since their adolescence and they moved forward together. They were our family’s pride.”— A relative, writing on Facebook after the killing
Family members were left reeling. In emotional posts shared on Facebook days after the shooting, loved ones described the couple as inseparable — childhood sweethearts who had built a life and a family together.
“My heart and our family are shattered, unable to accept this reality,” one relative wrote. Another noted that Marin de Romero’s three children “will no longer have their parents together” — and that she may have “left this world without even knowing what happened in that moment.”
The couple’s youngest child is just three years old.
Marin de Romero was found with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Romero remained held at the Harris County Jail as of the weekend following the shooting.
The case is under investigation by Harris County homicide detectives.
