HOUSTON – Police hope an increased reward will encourage someone with information about the man who killed an elderly woman during a home invasion to come forward.
Houston police said a couple at a home on Sanford near Mullins heard their dog barking about 9 p.m. on Jan. 12.
Bill Gage, 84, opened the back door to let the dog out and a man forced his way inside, pushing Gage to the ground, police said.
Detectives said the man kicked Gage in the head.
His wife, Margaret "Marie" Gage, 82, tried to intervene and the suspect beat her with his hands, police said.
Margaret Gage was taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital, where she died.
The husband was treated at the scene.
"It's an apparent robbery as the motive," Sgt. C.E, Elliott said. "After beating Marie to the ground, knocking her down, he made Bill show him where the jewelry in the house was.
The man took off with several items including a diamond wedding ring, a sapphire ring, a blue topaz ring and a necklace, investigators said.
"This jewelry is so unique that someone showed up with it, someone went to trade it somewhere," Elliott said.
"If he wanted that, he could have come in and just taken that and left them alone," said Loa Glenn, the couple's daughter.
Detectives said they believe the couple was targeted and may have been followed home.
"We all miss her so much," Glenn said. "She meant the world to us. We know she's in heaven, but we sure miss her here."
The suspect was described as tall, dark and slender. Bill Gage suffers from dementia and Alzheimer's disease and has had trouble giving police a detailed description of the suspect.
"We need to make sure that this man can't and won't do this to anyone else," Glenn said.
Officials said they do not know if the man got away on foot or in a vehicle.
A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Margaret Gage's killer. Anyone with information is asked to call the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.