Authorities said the caller told dispatchers he had just shot his wife.
CLOVERLEAF, Texas — A man’s 911 call brought Harris County deputies to a Cloverleaf home where they found his wife dead from gunshot wounds and arrested him on a murder charge, investigators said.
The call came after a shooting shortly after 1 p.m. May 2 at a home on Texarkana Street. Deputies said Jose Arquimides Romero, 43, told dispatchers he had shot his wife. When deputies arrived, they found Yanira Marin de Romero, 39, dead inside the home and took Romero into custody without incident. The sheriff’s office said three children were inside the house at the time and were not hurt.
The first account of the case came through the emergency call, according to investigators. Romero allegedly did not flee the scene after the shooting. Instead, authorities said, he stayed at the house and reported what had happened. Deputies entered a scene that had already turned from a family dispute into a homicide investigation. Marin de Romero was in a bathroom and had been shot multiple times. Emergency responders pronounced her dead there. Officials have not released the exact wording of the 911 call beyond saying Romero reported that he had shot his wife.
After Romero was detained, homicide detectives questioned him about what led to the shooting. The sheriff’s office said Romero told investigators he killed Marin de Romero because she did not take his back pain seriously. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez also said Romero was reportedly upset because she was not taking that pain seriously enough. Investigators have not said how long the argument lasted, whether the pain issue had come up before or whether the couple had argued earlier that day. The known public record describes a dispute, gunfire and an alleged admission afterward.
The house was not empty. Three children, ages 3, 8 and 13, were inside when the shots were fired. Officials said they hid and were not injured. That detail placed the killing not only inside a marital argument but inside a family home where children were forced to respond to danger. The sheriff’s office has not said whether the children gave statements to investigators, whether they were interviewed by child specialists or whether relatives took them from the home after deputies secured the scene.
Romero was booked into the Harris County Jail and charged with murder. Local reports said court records showed he was due in court the Tuesday after the shooting. The early phase of the criminal case will likely focus on bond, appointment or appearance of defense counsel, charging paperwork and the transfer of police reports to prosecutors. Romero has not been convicted of a crime in the case. Prosecutors will have to prove the murder charge in court if the case goes forward to trial or another formal resolution.
The sheriff’s office identified the shooting as a domestic violence case. Officials have not released any earlier record of calls to the home or any prior allegation involving the couple. Without those records, the public account remains limited to the May 2 confrontation and the events immediately after it. Investigators may review dispatch logs, previous incident reports, text messages, phone records and witness statements to determine whether there were warning signs before the shooting. As of the latest public reports, those details remained unknown.
Relatives who wrote about the couple after Marin de Romero’s death gave a different view of the family’s public image. One loved one wrote that the couple had been together since adolescence and described their marriage as almost perfect. The same post said the family’s heart was shattered and called the couple a source of pride. Another message said Marin de Romero may have died without knowing what happened in the moment. Those comments became part of the story because they showed how sharply the charge contrasted with what relatives believed about the household.
The scene on Texarkana Street became a record of several timelines at once. There was the argument before the shooting, the moment gunfire broke out, the children hiding, the 911 call, the arrival of deputies and the start of a homicide case. Officials have released only parts of that sequence. They have not publicly described the firearm, the number of shell casings, the full contents of the 911 call, autopsy findings or any statement from Romero after the initial detective interview.
The case stands with Romero charged and the investigation continuing. The next confirmed developments are expected in Harris County court records or further sheriff’s office updates as detectives complete reports and prosecutors review the evidence.
Author note: Last updated June 2, 2026.