Prosecutor: Father Used Cleaning Supplies To Cover Up Crime

HOUSTON -- A man accused of killing his two young children appeared in court Wednesday as more details came out about the case, including how he allegedly covered up the crime, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Prosecutors said Randy Sylvester, 27, was the last person to see his 7-year-old son Randy Jr. and his 3-year-old daughter, Denim, alive on Father's Day. He has been charged with two counts of capital murder.

The district attorney's office said Sylvester used cleaning supplies to cover up the crime in his Pasadena apartment. An "unknown violent episode" was given as the preliminary cause of death until specialists can examine the burned bodies more carefully.

The children's charred remains were found early Saturday in a wooded area in southeast Houston off of Allendale Road near Old Galveston Road after police said Randy Sylvester told them to search there.

Police said Sylvester sublet his apartment to friends, but still had access to it. According to prosecutors, on the day the children went missing, Sylvester told his tenants they needed to leave the apartment for a few hours.

"When the two people went back to the apartment, there was an odor of cleaning supplies and the windows were open," prosecutor Stephen St. Martin said.

Prosecutors said a witness saw Sylvester on Father's Day putting a blue suitcase into the trunk of his car.

The burned remains of Denim were later found in a blue suitcase. The remains of Randy Jr. were found inside a wooden chest that used to be in Sylvester's apartment, according to authorities.

Investigators said they still do not have a motive for the killings.

"I have no idea -- none," St. Martin said.

The judge ruled that the case had probable cause to bind over to a grand jury.

Sylvester's newly appointed defense attorney said his client appears depressed.

"I think anybody would be if they had the media outside the courtroom and everybody was looking at him," defense attorney Jerome Godinich said.

Sylvester was on probation for drug charges when his children were killed. He is being held without bond. Prosecutors said they have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.

Texas EquuSearch has scheduled a memorial service for the children. It will take place on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Gateway Community Church, 760 Clear Lake City Blvd.

Officials said the children would be buried in New Orleans. The family relocated to Houston after Hurricane Katrina.

More Information:

State Of Texas Vs. Randy Sylvester