Suspect charged in slaying of estranged wife
Man installing cabinets in her mobile home also stabbed to death after a fight outside
A Willowbrook-area man was charged Sunday with capital murder hours after turning himself in to police, who say he stabbed his estranged wife and another man to death with a knife.
Brian Bullock, 34, was already out on bail for allegedly assaulting his wife, Michelle Bullock, 29, in June. The Harris County Sheriff ’s Office says he stabbed Bullock and Mark Keil, 56, who was installing cabinets in her mobile home.
A hearing officer on Monday ordered Bullock, now at Harris County Jail, undergo a mental health evaluation, according to court documents.
Deputies on Sunday were first called to the 21000 block of Berrywood Bend Drive, near Tomball, just before 2 p.m. after a neighbor spotted a fight outside and called 911, said sheriff’s office spokesman Thomas Gilliland.
When law enforcement officers arrived, they found Keil and Bullock dead outside a mobile home.
‘A tragic case’
The suspect had already fled, but within an hour he drove to a Precinct 4 substation on Cypresswood and turned himself in. He told deputy constables there that he’d been in a fight, Gilliland said, so authorities detained him.
Constable deputies brought the 34-year-old suspect back to the crime scene to meet investigators. Soon after, he was charged with capital murder involving multiple deaths, which can carry the death penalty.
Authorities have not released a motive, and Gilliland said it’s not known whether Michelle Bullock had any additional relationship with Keil, aside from his being at the mobile home to install cabinets.
Although the family had children, they were staying at another location at the time of the killings, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Sunday.
“A tragic case of domestic violence,” Gonzalez tweeted after Bullock’s arrest. “October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but let’s not forget this is an issue going on all year.”
In June, Brian Bullock was arrested and charged with assaulting his wife. He had made bail, set at $2,500, and was awaiting his December hearing when he allegedly stabbed and killed his wife.
On June 8, a sheriff’s deputy was called to the 10000 block of Wildwood Park Lane and spoke to Michelle Bullock, who said her husband had assaulted her after she spent too long shopping and eating lunch with a friend, according to a criminal complaint.
Details of earlier fight
Outside the Willowbrook-area home, Brian Bullock allegedly yelled at his wife and demanded her cellphone. When she walked away from him, he allegedly grabbed her shirt, ripping it off along with her bra, according to the complaint.
When Michelle Bullock went inside, Brian allegedly “slammed her into the wall ... pushed her into the couch … and struck her in the face,” among other violent acts, according to the complaint.
Charges against Brian Bullock, who lived at the home where the attack occurred, were filed two days later. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office recommended that Bullock’s bail be set at $50,000, and Michelle Bullock requested an emergency protective order, according to court documents.
It’s unclear whether that request for a protective order was granted.
After spending two months in jail, Bullock made bail, and judges reset his next hearing several times. Prior to being charged with capital murder, his hearing for the assault charge was slated for Dec. 3.
Bullock is due in court Tuesday. His attorney declined to comment.