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Miami Herald
21-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Mom wakes from 2-month coma shackled to bed, accused of killing son, TX suit says
A Texas woman is suing after she says she was wrongfully accused of causing her 5-year-old son's death. The lawsuit was filed against the Baytown Police Department and several officers May 16. McClatchy News reached out to the department for comment May 21 but did not immediately hear back. The legal action stems from a fatal car crash that left the woman severely injured and in a coma, and her son dead. On July 8, 2020, the woman was driving to the beach with her son and a friend when they were struck by a Chevy Silverado, according to the lawsuit. The woman, her son, the friend and the driver of the truck were all flown to a hospital, the civil complaint said. The 5-year-old boy was the only one to die, the lawsuit said. The woman fell into a coma and when she woke up nearly two months later, she was shackled to the bed with handcuffs, according to the lawsuit. 'I remember waking up someone saying … wake up,'' she told KPRC. 'I asked, 'Why am I handcuffed?' ... Then he said, 'You're being charged with manslaughter.'' The woman said in court filings that officers fabricated evidence and conspired against her to bring charges forth. Contradicting 'evidence' In a report that's used to detail probable cause necessary to file criminal charges, an officer said there were witnesses who saw the woman speeding and running a red light, the lawsuit said. However, after the report was filed for the district attorney, the officer changed his story and said there were no witnesses, according to the complaint. The same officer accused the woman of having 'an alcoholic smell to her breath' at the time of the accident, according to the complaint. However at the hospital, another officer asked staff what the woman's blood alcohol content was, and they said it was 'point zero zero,' the lawsuit said. Despite having no alcohol in her system, the officers 'fabricated evidence' and 'falsified records' to falsely charge her, according to the lawsuit. On July 9, 2020, one officer noted in an affidavit that the driver of the Chevy told them 'his version' of events and that is what established probable cause to charge the woman, the lawsuit said. However, police body camera footage showed that the driver never described anything about the crash and never implicated the woman, according to the complaint. The lawsuit also said some police body camera footage from the incident went 'missing' or was 'destroyed.' On May 19, 2023, the charges against the woman were dismissed. However, by then, she had suffered great damage from the false allegations. 'I still wasn't grieving the way I needed to. I was more focused on, I'm looking at 20 years,' the woman told KPRC. In addition to being 'severely injured' from the crash, the woman said she woke up in the hospital in police custody. She was considered a Jane Doe in the hospital, her family wasn't allowed to visit her or get updates on her health, and the day she got out of the hospital she was escorted to jail and had to post a $90,000 bond, the lawsuit said. For the three years she was fighting the criminal case, she couldn't drive, find a job, get medical insurance to help with the cost of her recovery and endured 'pure, unimaginable hell,' the lawsuit said. The lawsuit is asking for an undetermined amount in damages, but she said it is about more than the money. 'My purpose in this was not and will never be for money. And I know people. I know that's what people are going to say. It's not. I want people aware of what does and will and can happen. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy,' she told KPRC. Baytown is about a 30-mile drive east from Houston.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man charged with murder after searching online about 'legal citizen' killing 'illegal immigrant'
A Texas man charged with murder in the death of his fiancé searched online what the legal consequences were for a "legal citizen' who killed an "illegal immigrant," according to a court document. Ty Vaughn, 31, has been charged with the murder of Luis David Banos Norberto, 21, nearly two months after authorities said he called 911 to report finding Banos dead at a Baytown, Texas, apartment. Prior to Banos' death, Vaughn "made an elaborate electronic inquiry on the world-wide web to determine the legal ramifications of killing an 'illegal immigrant' by a 'legal citizen,'" according to a court document regarding bond and filed in the 183rd District Court in Harris County. In a news release posted Monday, the Baytown Police Department said it arrested Vaughn on Friday in connection with the Jan. 14 death of Banos, whom they identified as his fiancé. Police said they found Banos shot in the head and held Vaughn for questioning. "Throughout the investigation, Vaughn provided inconsistent testimony," the police news release states. The court document alleges that Banos was shot in the face with a lever action rifle and afterward the scene was staged as a suicide. It also states that Vaughn is a U.S. Army veteran who was honorably discharged. Vaughn told authorities the two had an argument Friday and then he left the apartment to visit his mother. He returned home at 4 p.m. in "an intoxicated state of mind," the court document states. One witness told police they heard gunfire at about that time and another reported seeing Vaughn enter the apartment at about 4:05 p.m. and then hearing a loud noise, according to the document. Bond was set for Vaughn at $500,000 on the condition he wears a GPS monitor if released. An arraignment hearing was set for April 30. Vaughn's court-appointed attorney Inger Chandler said her client is presumed innocent and "cases are rarely as clear-cut as they seem." She said Vaughn "is devastated by the loss of his fiancé; he loved Mr. Banos very much and hoped to marry him." The obituary for Banos posted online states he was born in Guerrero, Mexico, and is survived by his parents, grandparents and three brothers, all of whom live in Baytown. "The artwork you've shared with me I will cherish even more closely. The volunteer work we've done over the years goes to show your character and big heart, and I'll continue," one person wrote in an online guestbook. A cousin posted a GoFundMe request for Banos in January on behalf of his mother, saying, "Our family is devastated with the loss of Luis."This article was originally published on
NBC News
11-03-2025
- NBC News
Murder suspect did online search about 'legal citizen' killing 'illegal immigrant,' court docs say
A Texas man charged with murder in the death of his fiancé searched online what the legal consequences were for a "legal citizen' who killed an "illegal immigrant," according to a court document. Ty Vaughn, 31, has been charged with the murder of Luis David Banos Norberto, 21, nearly two months after authorities said he called 911 to report finding Banos dead at a Baytown, Texas, apartment. Prior to Banos' death, Vaughn "made an elaborate electronic inquiry on the world-wide web to determine the legal ramifications of killing an 'illegal immigrant' by a 'legal citizen,'" according to a court document regarding bond and filed in the 183rd District Court in Harris County. In a news release posted Monday, the Baytown Police Department said it arrested Vaughn on Friday in connection with the Jan. 14 death of Banos, whom they identified as his fiancé. Police said they found Banos shot in the head and held Vaughn for questioning. "Throughout the investigation, Vaughn provided inconsistent testimony," the police news release states. The court document alleges that Banos was shot in the face with a lever action rifle and afterward the scene was staged as a suicide. It also states that Vaughn is a U.S. Army veteran who was honorably discharged. Vaughn told authorities the two had an argument Friday and then he left the apartment to visit his mother. He returned home at 4 p.m. in "an intoxicated state of mind," the court document states. One witness told police they heard gunfire at about that time and another reported seeing Vaughn enter the apartment at about 4:05 p.m. and then hearing a loud noise, according to the document. Bond was set for Vaughn at $500,000 on the condition he wears a GPS monitor if released. An arraignment hearing was set for April 30. Vaughn's court-appointed attorney Inger Chandler said her client is presumed innocent and "cases are rarely as clear-cut as they seem." She said Vaughn "is devastated by the loss of his fiancé; he loved Mr. Banos very much and hoped to marry him." The obituary for Banos posted online states he was born in Guerrero, Mexico, and is survived by his parents, grandparents and three brothers, all of whom live in Baytown. "The artwork you've shared with me I will cherish even more closely. The volunteer work we've done over the years goes to show your character and big heart, and I'll continue," one person wrote in an online guestbook. A cousin posted a GoFundMe request for Banos in January on behalf of his mother, saying, "Our family is devastated with the loss of Luis."
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
Texas man accused of murdering fiancé searches, ‘Can I kill an illegal human'
*Attached video: Homicides in Cleveland in recent years BAYTOWN, Texas (WJW) – A Texas man has been charged with murder after his fiancé was found dead inside an apartment in January. According to a press release from the Baytown Police Department, officers were called to an apartment complex in the 3500 block of Crosby Cedar Bayou on Jan. 14 after it was reported that a man was found shot at about 5:30 a.m. Local community college announces faculty layoffs, program slashing The caller, 31-year-old Ty Vaughn, told officers that he had found his fiancé, 27-year-old Luis Banos, dead from a gunshot wound, the release said. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a dead man with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. Vaughn was detained for questioning. 'Throughout the investigation, Vaughn provided inconsistent statements' and 'detectives later determined the cause of death to be a homicide,' reads the release. On March 7, Vaughn was arrested and charged with murder in connection to Banos' death, according to the release. The murder is still under investigation. 4 charged in death of 5-year-old boy in hyperbaric chamber explosion Court documents show police found on Vaughn's phone that he had searched Google for 'Can I kill an illegal human?' according to local news station ABC13. 'Domestic violence can escalate to deadly outcomes. If you are in an abusive relationship, help is available,' the release said. The press release also provided the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233), for 24/7 support. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
