HOUSTON – The husband of a woman whose body was found stuffed inside a refrigerator in southwest Houston has been charged with murder and extradited back to Houston.
Patrick Lambert was apprehended in Mexico after fleeing with his 11-month-old son. Police began looking for the father and son after the body of Anastacia Oaikhena-Lambert was found.
In an affidavit obtained by Local 2, Patrick Lambert is accused of killing Oaikhena-Lambert on Sept. 26. Her body was not found until Dec. 8 when maintenance personnel received reports a foul odor coming from the apartment at 10555 Fondren.
According to a statement read in court, before moving to Houston in February of this year, Oaikhena-Lambert reached out to a local women's shelter for help while living at one in Hawaii. The request documented that she'd been suffering from mental, physical and sexual abuse from her husband, Patrick Lambert, according to the statement.
She wrote a handwritten letter to the shelter, outlining her reasons for moving to Houston. They included claims of infidelity and what she believed was a veil of secrecy her husband had been living under.
She moved out of the local shelter and into an apartment in June. The last time anyone heard or saw Oaikhena-Lambert was on Sept. 26, a few weeks after she had called Houston police claiming Lambert had threatened to kill her with a knife. She never filed charges.
"If the very first time that Mr. Lambert committed domestic violence and that was reported, he may have been charged with aggravated assault, got help. The situation may have been different," said Houston police chief Charles McClelland.
Prosecutors say witnesses put him in the apartment around the time Oaikhena-Lambert went missing. They say the mother had been stabbed in the neck and throat area 19 times and may have been dead since Sept. 26, more than two months before her body was found.
Her baby, Achilles Lambert, was missing, and investigators released an Amber Alert for information leading to the whereabouts of the baby and his father.
On Dec. 12, Achilles was located in Queretaro, Mexico, where he had been abandoned by his father. Patrick Lambert was also taken into custody at a separate location in Mexico.
Patrick Lambert arrived in Houston about 9 a.m. Wednesday with Mexican immigration officials. He was questioned by HPD investigators and subsequently charged with his wife's murder. Police said Lambert was not cooperative with investigators.
Baby Achilles remains in the custody of child services officials in Mexico and multiple agencies are coordinating his return to Houston at a later date.
His aunt, who lives in Germany, wants custody of her nephew and says Lambert will be punished in one way or another.
"The soul of my sister will haunt him," the aunt said.
Houston child protective services spokeswoman Estella Olguin tells Local 2, "We do not have a public record on the case with Achilles, but in cases like this CPS works with law enforcement and Child welfare agencies of other countries to ensure the safety of the child. This can include ensuring the safe return of the child to the US and placing the child in a safe home."