HOUSTON (HCDAO) – A 39-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison after being convicted of murder for fatally shooting his wife at their Spring apartment in 2021, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.
“Unfortunately, when we have domestic violence and gun violence, it is often a deadly combination,” Ogg said. “This is why we take all allegations of abuse or domestic violence so seriously.”
Christopher Edward Anderson was convicted of murder for shooting 44-year-old Tonya Davis Anderson, a mother of three, on July 20, 2021.
Anderson had a history of violence, including a conviction for an aggravated assault against a family member, and was arrested seven months before the murder for choking Tonya’s 16-year-old son.
Anderson made bail and was ordered, as a condition of bond, to stay away from Tonya and her son and to wear a GPS ankle monitor. He was also not allowed to possess firearms.
However, he was at Tonya’s apartment on the night of the murder when an argument broke out between the two. A neighbor testified that she heard Tonya screaming and shouting at Anderson to leave before hearing gunshots.
Tonya’s son was also at the apartment when the shooting happened, and he called 911. Deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.
After the shooting, Anderson took Tonya’s car and fled. He ditched the gun and his phone, then drove to another location to remove his ankle monitor. He then drove across town and dumped the car.
Three days later, authorities located Anderson at his parents’ home in a different county and arrested him.
A Harris County jury on Thursday convicted Anderson on the seventh day of trial. After the verdict, Anderson was facing life in prison. He and prosecutors agreed to a sentence of 40 years in prison in exchange for Anderson waiving his right to appeal the conviction and the prison sentence.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Magill prosecuted the case, along with ADA Steve Walsh, who are both assigned to the DA’s Domestic Violence Division.
“It looks like they were at the house together, got into an argument and it escalated,” Magill said. “He backed her into a bathroom while she was trying to escape him—in fact, a neighbor heard her screaming to stop. Nobody deserves to die that way.”
News by Breaking911
