Wife: Husband’s killing was self-defense
Fort Bend sheriff says argument led to shooting
In a quiet corner of a Katy-area subdivision, neighbors Friday morning awoke to a startling crime scene.
An argument between a young couple had escalated into a struggle that left the husband, 32-yearold Jeffrey Thaler, dead of a gunshot wound, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office. His wife, Mary, who allegedly shot him, gave a voluntary statement to deputies and was released without being booked into jail, said her attorney, Todd Ward.
Ward said his client acted in self-defense. He believed evidence will show a history of previous domestic abuse and emphasized that the event was a tragedy for all involved.
“It’s a sad event for both families,” he said. “Mary was simply acting to save her own life.”
Deputies responded around 1:20 a.m. to a call about a domestic violence case at a home in the 2400 block of Brandyshire Drive, according to a news release.
No one else was at the house at the time of the incident, and no other injuries were reported.
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said the woman called 911 to report that she had shot her husband. When deputies arrived at the home, the woman was waiting for them and her husband was inside dead. He had been shot once in the chest. A pistol was found at the scene.
The sheriff said the woman was cooperating with investigators, who were gathering evidence and other information to determine what led to the dispute. The case will be referred to a Fort Bend County grand jury to determine whether charges will be filed.
“Obviously, this was some type of argument between the couple,” Nehls said.
It was not immediately clear whether deputies previously had been called to the house. No records in the district courts for Fort Bend and Harris counties indicated any history of violence.
Ward, the defense attorney, noted that women often do not report domestic violence cases.
The couple, who Ward said had been married 5½ years, lived in a large home on a corner lot in Firethorne, a master-planned community with lakes and walking trails. They had no children.
Logos for the Texans and the University of Houston decorated either side of the street number painted on their curb. A small gnome wearing a Texans cap and holding a football was placed on the porch, near a mat decorated with the letter “T.”
Facebook accounts for each offer some context to their lives. According to her page, Mary Martin Thaler grew up in Katy and attended James E. Taylor High School. Property records show an address for her parents in the Katy neighborhood of Nottingham Country, in a brick home on a cul-de-sac near the school.
Mary Thaler listed a business called Lacey Oak, which she operated for several years in a rented space in a quaint home-turned-shop on the historic Katy town square. There, she sold jewelry, purses and antiques until January of this year.
Jeff Thaler posted on his Facebook in August that he graduated from the University of Houston. A photo from May shows him in cap and gown.
Other images that the couple posted of themselves show them smiling together in a number of locales: at a waterfront, on a hike, in a pool.
A neighbor, Lori Dang, 42, was among those shocked by the news. She said she had been sad all day.
Dang saw Jeff Thaler from time to time when she went to tend to the garden on the side of her house. He parked his pick-up in his adjacent driveway and they would occasionally chat. He was kind and friendly, she said.
They had just had a conversation this week about the weather and coming holiday. Dang had finished her decorations — a wreath hung on her door and lights outlined her yard — but Thaler was just starting on his.
Looking over at his adjacent yard, she observed that blue bulbs traced the edge of one side of the walkway and grass, but not the other.