HOUSTON, TEXAS: A Texas man accused of killing his girlfriend and her puppy while on probation for an earlier stabbing was apprehended on Tuesday after spending three days on the run. According to a criminal complaint submitted in Harris County District Court, 58-year-old Marques Kelvin Potts is currently charged with felony murder for the July 29 death of Melissa Fowler, 43, who was found dead in her northwest Houston apartment.
Although the relationship between the alleged killer and his victim is not mentioned in the charging documents, Houston Police confirmed it to the Houston Chronicle.
Potts stabbed a female relative in March 2021
According to court documents, Potts stabbed a female relative in March 2021. Potts was required to keep 200 feet away from the apartment building where he is alleged to have killed Fowler by a protective order issued after his arrest in 2021, according to the Chronicle. According to the source, he consented to a deal for deferred adjudication in exchange for five years of probation in June of this year, as reported by Foxnews.
According to the complaint, a patrol officer from Houston reported a "stabbing murder" late on Saturday night. Officers arrived on the scene and discovered Fowler covered in "multiple apparent stab wounds all over her body."
Security footage shows 'part of the murder'
According to the document, Potts was identified as the victim's killer by Fowler's apartment manager, who claimed to have known both Fowler and Potts for a number of years. Security footage showed "part of the murder." Potts allegedly broke into her apartment while Fowler was gone "using some sort of hand tool" and waited inside for about 20 minutes.
As soon as she opened the door, a panicked Fowler was seen "fall[ing] out of her apartment with multiple apparent injuries to her chest," before frantically trying to "hold onto the door jamb" before Potts forced her back inside.
Her puppy 'was found in the bathtub stabbed to death'
After hearing cries for help, an apartment staff member at the front desk knocked on Fowler's door but left when no one answered. Responding police discovered Fowler inside the apartment, face-down in a pool of her own blood, with stab wounds to her back and chest and bloody knives next to her body. She was declared dead on the spot. Her puppy, per the complaint, "was found in the bathtub stabbed to death."
Soon after, a warrant was issued for Potts' detention; on Tuesday, he was taken into custody "without incident," according to a press release from the Houston Police Department. The Chronicle reports that police declined to specify the location of the arrest.
