Fort Bend SWAT search for suspect in domestic violence-related death
FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas - Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating a domestic violence-related homicide after a young woman was found dead in her home in Richmond on Monday morning.
Authorities say 23-year-old Anyi Montealegre Izquierdo's body was found at a residence in the 5400 block of FM 762 Road around 8:41 a.m.
Jhon Vanegas Romero (Courtesy of Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office)
Jhon Vanegas Romero, 24, is believed to have been living with the victim at the time of the incident and has been identified as a suspect.
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Later Monday evening, authorities received a potential lead on Romero’s whereabouts, leading to an overnight search by SWAT teams in the 2200 block of Richmond Street in Needville. Despite the extensive search efforts, Romero has not yet been located.
FOX 26's Jonathan Mejia spoke with the victim, Anyi Tatiana Montealegre Izquierdo's family, through video chat via WhatsApp. Izquierdo was 23-years old and a mother to a two-year-old daughter.
"At this moment we are very devastated, shocked, to find out about the horrible way in which she was murdered," Viviana Rojas, Izuierdo's sister-in-law, said.
The family told FOX 26 that Izquierdo and Romero were together for almost two years and had a history of domestic violence in their relationship. However, Izquierdo would always forgive him. Rojas said Izquierdo was blinded by love.
"She was a woman of very few words, and sometimes she never talked about the problems she had with her partner," Rojas said.
After the last incident in Colombia, the couple decided it was best to start over elsewhere and immigrated to the United States. They left Colombia in December 2023 and made it to the United States in February 2024.
"Tatiana had many dreams and goals of being able to give her daughter and her parents a better quality of life but unfortunately her dreams were cut short by that murderer," Rojas said.
The news of Izquierdo's death has made the rounds in her hometown of Gigante, Huila, Colombia.
"We do not have words to remedy the pain that is so strong that we as a family are feeling, we wish it was a bad dream, but that’s not the case," Rojas said.
The family wants justice to be served and that Izquierdo's body be repatriated to Colombia.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at (281) 342-8477. Authorities are asking for the public to exercise caution and avoid approaching Romero if seen.