Investigators combined forensic testing with victim and witness accounts while examining the 2025 death of Francisco Chura.
HOUSTON, Tex. — The screwdriver was bent, stained with blood and found on the floor of a room where a 90-year-old store owner had been attacked, according to court records. For months, it remained a central piece of evidence in an unresolved Houston homicide.
In June, laboratory testing reportedly identified DNA from both the victim, Francisco Chura, and a suspect, Anthony Cerda, on the tool. Houston police then charged Cerda, 34, with capital murder and arrested him June 12. The filing brought together an investigation that began with Chura’s account from a hospital, widened through neighborhood interviews and an anonymous tip, and ultimately turned on forensic results. Cerda denied killing Chura during the investigation. He has not been tried, and the charge is an accusation rather than proof of guilt.
The case began at about 9 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2025, when Houston officers responded to an assault report at 7801 Canal St. Police said they found Chura suffering from multiple injuries. Houston Fire Department paramedics took him to a hospital, where he remained for 18 days before dying Sept. 7. The police department’s public statement described blunt-force injuries but did not provide extensive details about the assault. More specific allegations appeared in a probable cause affidavit later reported by ABC13 and Law&Crime.
Those court records allege that the attacker entered Chura’s home by removing a window-mounted air-conditioning unit from a rear window. The residential room was connected to a convenience store Chura had operated for decades. Investigators said Chura had been asleep when a man got on top of him and began striking him. The assailant also used a screwdriver, according to the records. Detectives documented puncture wounds and blood on the bedding, while the screwdriver was recovered nearby.
Chura survived long enough to recount the attack. He told detectives that he remained still so the assailant would believe he was dead. Once the person left, Chura moved into a bathroom and stayed there until daylight, according to the affidavit. He then reached a neighbor’s home and sought assistance. His account gave police a description of a man with long hair, but the publicly reported records do not indicate that Chura identified Cerda by name or selected him from a lineup.
Investigators found another clue in the condition of a safe. It was open and contained no money, the records say. Chura told detectives that approximately $3,000 was missing. That report led authorities to consider robbery as a possible motive and later supported the decision to pursue capital murder rather than a standard murder charge. Police have not announced that the missing money was found, traced to Cerda or spent in a way that connected him to the crime.
The inquiry next moved beyond the room and into the surrounding neighborhood. Officers learned that Chura had a reputation for giving or lending money to people in need. A woman who lived near the store told detectives that her nephew, Cerda, knew Chura and sometimes received money from him. She said Cerda had visited the store shortly before the attack. The woman also told police that Cerda sometimes stayed at her home because he did not have stable housing, according to the affidavit described by Law&Crime.
Police encountered Cerda roughly two months after Chura was injured. Court records say officers spotted a man with long hair hiding in a crawl space beneath the woman’s home. She identified him as her nephew. That discovery resembled part of Chura’s description and placed Cerda close to the crime scene, but investigators did not immediately file a homicide charge. Cerda told detectives that he had not killed Chura and claimed he had never been inside the convenience store. His statement conflicted with the homeowner’s account of his visits.
Detectives also examined what happened at the store before the attack. A witness said he arrived on the preceding night and found the door locked. Chura admitted him and described having given money to a man who later returned demanding more, the affidavit says. Chura reportedly refused the request and expelled the man. He did not tell the witness who the person was. Because Chura left the person unidentified, the statement offered investigators a possible sequence but did not by itself connect Cerda to the confrontation.
Months passed as investigators sought more information and waited for forensic analysis. In January 2026, a man told detectives that he had spent time with Cerda after Chura’s death. The witness alleged that Cerda said, “I killed Pancho,” using Chura’s nickname, according to the court records cited by Law&Crime. The public reporting does not say whether the purported statement was recorded, whether the witness immediately reported it or whether the witness received any benefit for cooperating. Those issues could affect how the account is evaluated in court.
ABC13 reported that an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip also identified Cerda as a suspect. Tips of that kind are often used to develop leads, but the tipster’s information and basis of knowledge have not been publicly described. Investigators had to determine whether evidence independent of the tip supported an arrest. By then, they had Chura’s description, the neighborhood statements, the alleged admission reported by a witness and the screwdriver awaiting complete forensic review.
The DNA analysis supplied the reported physical connection. A laboratory determined that the sample from the screwdriver contained genetic material associated with Chura and Cerda, according to the affidavit account. Public sources do not provide the statistical strength of the match, identify which portion of the tool was sampled or explain whether the DNA came from blood, skin cells or another biological source. The full laboratory report has not been made public, and the defense may seek its underlying data and chain-of-custody records.
After receiving the results, police obtained a warrant for Cerda. He was already jailed in an unrelated case when the capital murder accusation was added. Houston police said the Eastside Division Gang Unit arrested and booked him in connection with Chura’s death. The department identified homicide investigators D. Toledo and H. Martinez as the detectives assigned to the case. The police announcement did not state whether any other person was suspected of participating.
The case now presents prosecutors with several distinct kinds of evidence rather than a single eyewitness identification. They may rely on Chura’s account of the attack, testimony about Cerda’s reported connection to the store, the alleged later admission, the missing cash and the DNA result. The defense may challenge whether the statements are reliable, whether the DNA proves when or how Cerda touched the screwdriver, and whether the state can establish the alleged robbery. None of those disputes has yet been resolved in open court.
Chura was remembered by neighbors as a longstanding local merchant who helped people in the area. One resident told ABC13 that generations had grown up knowing him. The legal case, however, will focus on admissible evidence and whether prosecutors can prove each element of capital murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Cerda remained in the Harris County Jail after the charge was filed. The available public reports do not list a trial date, identify his attorney or state whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
Author note: Last updated July 13, 2026.