Texas Man Kills Woman in Front of Children Before Turning Gun on Himself on Thanksgiving: Police

Stock photo of police tape. (Carl Ballou/Shutterstock)

A Texas man shot and killed his wife in front of their three children on Thanksgiving Day morning before shooting himself in an apparent attempted murder-suicide, said police.

Daryl Stegall, 32, went to the home of Kishana Jeffers, 30, in Lewisville and kicked in the door, the Dallas Morning News reported. He then allegedly shot Jeffers before walking into another area and then turned the gun on himself, said the Lewisville Police Department.

He did not die and was later hospitalized in unknown condition, officials said.

The children, who are aged 7, 9, and 10, apparently saw the incident. They were not harmed, reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The children were then handed over to Child Protective Services workers.

Officials said the man did not live in the apartment, and he kicked in the door when the woman wouldn’t let him inside, according to reports. CBS Dallas reported that Stegall and Jeffers were previously married.

As of Nov. 23 at 7:30 a.m. local time, Stegall was still alive at Medical City of Plano. No charges have been filed against him, and police said there’s a chance he might not survive.

Other details about the case are not clear.

Violent Crime Up in Texas in 2017

In Texas, according to the FBI, the violent crime rate rose in 2017, reported the Texas Tribune.

The agency noted that there were only 1.5 officers for every 1,000 Texas residents last year, which is down from two Texas officers for every 1,000 residents in 2016.

In September 2018, the FBI said Americans committed fewer violent and property crimes across the United States in 2017, according to statistics. The violent crime rate—including offenses such as murder, robbery, and aggravated assault—dropped by almost 1 percent and is still about 4 percent above the 2014 rate. The murder rate dropped by 0.7 percent.

“There were more than 1.2 million violent crimes reported to [the FBI] nationwide in 2017. There was a 0.7 percent decrease in murders and a 4 percent decrease in robberies from 2016 to 2017. Aggravated assaults increased 1 percent in 2017. The FBI began collecting data solely on an updated rape definition last year, and 135,755 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2017,” the agency said.

Of the estimated 17,284 murders in 2017, more than half occurred in larger cities—with populations of more than 100,000.

There are fewer than 300 such cities in the United States, and while they account for less than 30 percent of the country’s population, many of them contribute far beyond their share to national crime rates and have done so for years, even decades.

While the national murder rate inched down to 5.3 per 100,000 residents, it spiked by 15 percent in Philadelphia, to a rate of more than 20 per 100,000 residents. Columbus, Ohio, saw a massive 54 percent murder rate increase, reaching nearly 16.3 per 100,000 residents.

The murder rate in St. Louis rose by more than 10 percent and reached 66 per 100,000 residents—the highest among larger cities.

Baltimore’s murder rate rose by nearly 8.5 percent, reaching some 56 per 100,000 residents.

In the United States, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255. Young people can call the Kids Help Phone on 1-800-668-6868.

In Australia, the crisis support service hotline is 13 11 14 (Lifeline).

Other worldwide suicide hotlines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

Petr Swab contributed to this report.