Police said the deaths at a Residence Inn near NRG Stadium are being investigated as an apparent murder-suicide.
HOUSTON, TX — A 40-year-old woman and her two young children were found dead Friday inside a southwest Houston hotel room after staff checked on the room, police said.
Houston police said the case is being investigated by homicide detectives as an apparent murder-suicide. The children were identified by age and gender as a 9-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl. Their names and their mother’s name had not been released as of Saturday, July 4, while authorities worked to notify relatives and complete the next steps in the investigation.
Officers were called shortly before noon Friday to the Residence Inn by Marriott at 7807 Kirby Drive, near Main Street, Old Spanish Trail and NRG Stadium. Police said hotel staff had not heard from anyone in the room after the woman checked in Wednesday. Workers went to check on the room Friday morning and found the door locked from the inside. After entering, they found all three people dead. Houston Police Lt. Larry Crowson said investigators believed the mother shot both children before killing herself.
The Houston Fire Department also responded to the hotel. Senior Capt. Raul D. Reyes said at the scene that the mother had shot and killed her children before taking her own life. Police said the woman had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the two children also had gunshot wounds. A gun was found in the room, according to police. Crowson said the first information from the scene pointed to a murder-suicide, though detectives were still reviewing evidence. “Right now, preliminarily, we believe this to be a murder-suicide,” Crowson said. He also said the case appeared to involve mental health issues.
The hotel sits in the Braeswood area, close to the Texas Medical Center and less than a mile from NRG Stadium. Police did not say whether the family lived in Houston, why they were staying at the hotel or whether anyone else had been in the room. Investigators also did not release a possible timeline for when the shootings happened. Crowson said the deaths may have occurred before the bodies were found Friday. The room was on an upper floor of the hotel, and police said staff members discovered the bodies during a check prompted by the lack of contact.
The deaths came two months after another Houston family was found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in the River Oaks area. In that May case, police said a man shot and killed his wife and two children before killing himself inside a home. The two cases are separate, and police have not reported any connection between them. Both cases drew attention because children were among the victims and because each investigation began after someone outside the family became worried and asked for a check or made contact with authorities.
Homicide investigators remained responsible for the hotel case Friday afternoon and into Saturday. Police had not announced charges because the suspected shooter was among the dead. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences was expected to confirm the victims’ identities and causes and manners of death through its normal process. Police did not announce a news conference for Saturday, and no public report had named the victims by Saturday morning. Detectives also had not released a note, prior police calls involving the family or any confirmed motive.
Reporters and news crews gathered near the hotel Friday as police vehicles and investigators worked around the building. The case unfolded as many people in Houston were beginning the Fourth of July weekend. The hotel remained in operation while officers focused on the room and the immediate scene. Police did not report any ongoing danger to guests, workers or nearby residents. Officials gave few details about the family beyond the ages of the children and the mother’s age, leaving much of the family’s background unknown.
As of Saturday, July 4, the investigation remained open. Police said the deaths were being treated as an apparent murder-suicide, with final findings pending further review by homicide detectives and the medical examiner.
Author note: Last updated July 4, 2026.