Houston shooting: Woman found dead with multiple gunshot wounds on Verde Trails Drive, son charged with murder

A woman was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in the 1000 block of Verde Trails Drive in Houston and her son has been charged with her murder.

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According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, deputies received a call for service on a Saturday night around 10 p.m. of a person in distress but didn't have a direct address. There were also possible gunshots heard, according to the caller.

"The police woke us up last night, banged on my door and asked us did we hear any gunshots," said Andre Forbes, a neighbor. 

Deputies surveyed the area but didn't find anything out of the ordinary and left the scene.

A second call, this time an alarm call, was called in about an hour later, and this time the garage door at the location was open, which raised an alarm. 

"This time, upon arrival, they found the garage door open. Which again, raised another red flag at that point that something was amiss," said Gonzalez. 

Deputies again surveyed the perimeter but didn't force entry after everything in the house seemed secure and left. But it did seem as though there was some type of disturbance inside the house.

On Sunday morning around 7 a.m., deputies were still at the scene from Saturday night and forced entry into the home and that was when they found the woman, later identified as 52-year-old Anna Iris Melendez. 

"Was deceased from apparent gunshot wounds. It appears she was shot a couple of times," said Gonzalez. 

A nearby neighbor said he'd interacted with the woman multiple times in passing when he was asked to do some yard work. 

"She was a very nice lady. She was peaceful. I would always see her pass by. She would wave at me and I would wave at her," said one neighbor. 

It appears the shooting occurred Saturday night, but hasn't been determined yet. 

Authorities said 27-year-old Christopher Melendez was arrested early Sunday morning after fleeing from Houston police on a traffic-related offense. 

"It’s been a very deadly weekend in all of Harris County with crashes, and now this homicide, so it’s very sad," said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said the shooting is part of a series of tragic events that have happened over Easter weekend. 

Christopher Melendez was booked into the Harris County Jail. 

Crime and Public SafetyHarris County