Loved ones hope to save others after Houston woman killed in domestic violence murder
HOUSTON - With domestic violence homicides on the rise, grieving family members of one of Houston’s latest victims is speaking out.
Chantz Williams' sister Lisa Daniel was murdered in her northeast Houston home as her teenage son called 911 saying his ex-stepfather had broken in.
My sister was just a quiet and humble person, [sic] didn’t bother anybody," Williams says. "The only thing that’s comforting me now is I know she’s in Heaven with my mom and I know my mom was standing there waiting on her."
BACKGROUND: Man accused in ex-wife’s death in Houston fatally shot himself in Dallas: HCSO
Now as her loved ones make plans to lay Daniel to rest they are also hoping what they have to say will help save someone else’s life.
"Just be careful and when you see signs of violence you need to report it and get out," Williams says.
"We don’t want this to happen to anyone else’s family," adds Daniel’s brother Robin Sheppard. "We’re doing as well as we are thanks to all the prayers and I want to say thank you for all the prayers. Thanks for all the well-wishes. It’s a trying time for our family. We’ll get through it step by step. This is the first step of things we have to do."
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We caught up with the heartbroken brother and his sister as they headed to finalize funeral arrangements for their baby sister.
"Something that we never thought we would have to deal with in our lifetime and don’t want anyone else to have to deal with this," says Sheppard.
"This is so difficult," Williams adds. "Two families have been affected. He had kids and everything. So I don’t really want to say anything against him, but it was a sickness, and he just couldn’t let it go."
Their little sister was taken from them Monday after investigators say her ex-husband Lorenzo White broke into her Northeast Houston home and opened fire on her.
"The backdoor was glass, and he busted through the glass and undone the door and just came in shooting," Williams explains. "She didn’t have a chance. ADT [Security Services] called me and I told them to send the law because I knew she was having some issues…with him."
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Although their divorce had been finalized 11 months earlier, "he just wouldn’t stop stalking her," Williams says.
White was charged with assaulting his wife last year in 2021, but she didn’t call the police again for help.
"I kept trying to get her to do things to protect herself, and she wouldn’t do it," Williams says. "She'd say 'well I don’t want to get him in trouble. I don’t want him to go to jail. I don’t want him to lose his job,' and that kindness got her killed. She really thought he wouldn’t harm her."
"We just want people to know if you have signs, do something about the signs, and hopefully you won’t have to go through something that our family is going through right now," Sheppard says.
"Do things to protect yourself. Like, she was worried about his life, but he wasn’t worried about her life," Williams adds.
Lisa Daniel was said to have a kind heart, worked at a major bank for 24 years, and was a proud mom of one son. The 16-year-old was home and called 911 for help as his mom was shot and killed. He’s now staying with his dad and stepmom.
"They are going to get him some counseling and everything and that’s exactly what he needs," says Williams.
Lorenzo White killed himself hours later after he was cornered by police in Dallas.
If you need help coming up with a safety plan to leave an abusive relationship contact the Domestic Violence Hotline at (713) 528-2121. You can also reach out to the Houston Police Department (DART) Domestic Abuse Response Team at (713) 308-0080 for help and an array of services.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for Lisa Daniel’s 16-year-old son here.