Woman found dead, police looking for boyfriend for questioning

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A woman was found murdered in her North Houston apartment around midnight Wednesday morning, and now police say they want to talk to her boyfriend.

Police say Latara Sanders’ family found her dead in her living room at the apartment she shared with her boyfriend on Yale Street. Police say she had bruising on her body and signs of foul play.

Houston police are asking the public for help locating her boyfriend Marcus Lockett, 33. Police say he’s not a suspect. They just want to ask him some questions about his girlfriend’s death, but he hasn’t been seen for several days.

“Nobody knows if he’s dangerous, you know, if he had anything to do with it, but hopefully they bring justice to her, because it’s hard, you know,” said neighbor Ruby Negrete.

Negrete says it’s been two days since she saw Latara Sanders, 32, alive—getting in her car at the apartment parking lot.

She never imagined she’d witness the grief of the family who discovered that their loved one had been murdered.

“We seen all these people yelling and screaming,” said Negrete. “The ladies were throwing up—throwing themselves on the ground.... I wouldn’t want to go through any of that, and my condolences are with the family.”

Police say the family went to Sanders’ apartment after not hearing from her in a matter of days.

After pounding on the door with no response, relatives tried the the next-door neighbor.

“She kept banging and banging after I finished talking to her, so I was putting my kids to sleep, and I heard them like- they probably bust the door open,” said Josie Bueno, whose apartment is adjacent to the murder scene. “So when I came outside, her sister came out crying, saying her sister was dead and stuff.”

Investigators discovered Sanders had bruising on her face, neck, back and left arm. The medical examiner’s office is working to determine when and how Sanders was killed. They expect to release that information on Thursday.

Anyone with information on Marcus Lockett’s whereabouts is asked to call the Houston Police Homicide Division or CrimeStoppers at 713-222-TIPS.