Police: Man beats stepfather to death in north Houston

HOUSTON – Houston Police said a man has been arrested and charged with murder, after allegedly beating his stepfather to death Sunday.

John Cook, 23, is charged with murder. The identity of the 43-year-old victim has not been released.

When officers arrived at a home in the 3100 block of Marzelle just before 9 p.m. Sunday night, they said they found the father lying face down in his living room, unresponsive.

He was taken to LBJ Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said the victim suffered blunt force trauma to his head. It is unclear what led up to attack, but investigators say the man's son was behind it. Cook was arrested at the scene.

"This is not known to be a house that gets a lot of calls. This is not a high crime family. This is just a regular family that went through a tragic loss," said Investigator Williamson, from the Houston Police homicide division.

Neighbors told KPRC Cook lived at the house with his stepfather and other relatives. They said the family had moved into the house with the past six months.

"[The victim] was a real nice guy. He kept to himself," said Renaldo Reyes lives across the street.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Cook pleaded guilty in Montgomery County to a charge of aggravated assault of a family member with a weapon in 2014.