PEARLAND, Texas – A man has been arrested in Pearland, accused of killing his wife in front of their children.
The alleged incident happened Tuesday night at the Tranquility Bay Apartments on Oak near Cullen.
"He was walking swiftly, and I believe he got in a truck," Neighbor Karen Taylor said.
It was around 8:00 p.m. Tuesday night that Karen Taylor said she saw 47-year-old Rodolfo Chaires leave the apartment in Pearland.
When she saw him, she had no idea what had just happened.
"He walked swiftly, and the way he drove off. I kind of figured something was going on, but didn't know what it was," Taylor said.
Taylor lives right next to the home where police say it all happened.
"I heard a lot of crying out. I also heard some rumbling sound, which I thought was something maybe hitting the walls," Taylor said.
Police say Chaires drove to Pearland from Littlefield to make amends with his estranged wife, Ernestina Lara Chaires. He knocked on the door, and she let him in. The two talked for several hours, but police said an argument ensued.
Police said Rodolfo Chaires shot his wife three times in the chest in front of two children and a grandchild, all under the age of 13. Ermestina Chaires, 45, was killed.
Neighbors said they see the kids around often, playing and riding their bikes.
"I'm shocked. I didn't think he would do something like that would happen. She was a real nice lady. She did have two daughters. We would tell her hello. We had just seen her a couple of weeks ago," Elizabeth Gomez said.
"You kind of wish that something could've been done, you could've heard something that it was protected, so the kids wouldn't have had to see it most likely, and so that this lady didn't have to lose her life," Casey Simien said.
After the shooting, police said Rodolfo Chaires fled the scene, but officers found him about four miles away.
He is now facing murder charges.