Pregnant wife left widowed after husband killed in Houston, killer still on the run
HOUSTON - A father-to-be was gunned down before he could ever meet his son.
Police say an unknown suspect shot and killed 26-year-old Marco Escayola at the South More Hotel in Third Ward on Oct. 15.
"To sit here and not be able to see him be a dad to his own kid is what's really hurting me on the inside," said Mariah Chano.
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Chano is carrying Escayola's unborn son, she's due in February. She says she and Escayola are common-law married, and were so excited to welcome their baby. She remembers finding out their baby's gender - and both agreeing his name will be Marco.
"We went, and they said congratulations it's a boy! We were like, it's Jr. We're going to name him Jr. No matter what. I'm glad I'm having a boy, so his legacy can live on," she said.
She says that Sunday night Escayola went to a nearby bar to watch the Houston Astros game with some friends. After a while, when she hadn't heard from him, she reached out to his friends who said Escayola had gone home.
"I just waited and waited," she said.
The next day, after calling numerous hospitals, Chano says she got a call from her mom who came to pick her up from work and sat her down to tell her some terrible news.
"I was thinking maybe he was badly hurt... I never in a million years thought he would have passed away," she said.
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Police say a Black male was arguing with Escayola at the motel, then pulled out a gun and shot Escayola, killing him. Police say it happened on the second-floor balcony. Forensic records show that Esayola was shot through the neck and in the torso.
"I really do hope they find the person that did this to him because no one deserves to die that way," said Chano. "Our kid now is going to grow up without a dad and one day I'm going to have to sit him down and tell him a bad guy took his dad away."
Chano says Escayola has served time in the past for a non-violent offense, and that creating a family was a big turnaround in his life.
She says he was working hard at a full-time job and focused on becoming the best father he could be.
"He was really trying to be the man that he wanted to be for his baby one day," she said.
If you have any information about this incident, please reach out to the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. You could be given a cash reward if your information leads to an arrest or conviction.