Suspect in wife’s death kills self in Florida
Man was sought on charges related to October 2020 shooting in La Marque
A 48-year-old man accused in his wife’s death took his own life in Florida as local authorities attempted to confront him — months after he fled the
Houston area while out on bond, according to U.S. Marshals Tuesday afternoon.
Police tracked Trent Paschal to Ocala on New Year’s Day after a tipster learned he had warrants for his arrest — including a bond forfeiture case linked to a murder charge. Paschal was indicted in the October 2020 shooting death of his estranged wife, Savannah Paschal, 30, at a La Marque home.
During a Tuesday press conference at Houston Crime Stoppers, Shirley Kinchen — Savannah’s mother — said Paschal’s suicide provides a closing chapter in the 14-month ordeal for her family and other victims he might have hurt on his way to Florida.
“Did I want him to be held responsible for his actions? Did I want to look him in the eye and for him to face me again with what he had done? Yes,” Kinchen said. “Am I sorry that he no longer walks on this earth? No. He is no longer a threat to our family and to society.”
According to authorities, Paschal posted a $250,000 surety bond last January and, at some point, removed a GPS ankle monitor that a judge ordered him to wear.
The removal did not trigger a tampering alarm. In April, he then stole a black Chevrolet Tahoe from a Harris County dealership during a test drive, according to court records.
Police believe Paschal pointed a knife at the dealership employee and told him to get out of the car, court records show. He left in the vehicle and his whereabouts remained unknown until the weekend.
The female tipster, a civilian, told the Marion County Sheriff ’s Office that Paschal was naked and asleep in a white van, according to a police report. Authorities
surrounded the van — reported stolen in Illinois — and Paschal was told to come out with his hands up.
Deputies then heard “a muffled pop” followed by the sound of something falling in the van, the report stated. Deputies opened the door and found him dead of a gunshot wound to the head. Inside the van, investigators found a pistol with more than one live round.
At the time of his death, Paschal was facing several charges, including murder, in Galveston County, as well as aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault against a public servant in Harris County.
The latter charge stemmed from Paschal’s initial clash with Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies after his wife’s death. A deputy confronted him during a Greenspoint-area traffic stop and shot him six times when he refused to put down a revolver.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Alfredo Perez added that authorities believe Paschal got rid of the GPS ankle monitor after healing from the injuries he sustained during the shooting.
“We believe that he was able to slip his ankle monitor off because his leg was swollen from the trauma of the gunshots,” Perez said, adding Paschal stashed the device at his mother’s home. “Once the swelling went down, he just slipped it off and plugged it into the wall.”
Kinchen said she would, in the future, like to see more monitoring of repeat offenders — like Paschal — who are out on bond.
“I think that they should look at criminal history — no, he (Paschal) did not have a violent criminal history — but he had a criminal history. He thumbed his nose at the justice system and the bond protective orders,” she said. “He was arrested three times by Friendswood, by Galveston County and Harris County after he committed murder of my child. He was let out every time.”
Kinchen, alongside her husband Michael, added she wishes to remember their daughter — who worked with domestic abuse victims at Bay Area Turning Point— as an “advocate for the underdog.” The family, she said, will continue to honor Savannah’s name by helping victims of domestic violence as well as fighting for bond reform.
“We waited a little over a year; many people wait decades.”