Christine Alexandra Fesus charged with shooting murder of DeAndrea Citizen after falsely claiming homeless black woman attacking her.
A Houston-area Texas woman who said she shot a homeless person who attacked or approached her aggressively has been charged with murder after investigators found her account false.
Christine Alexandra Fesus, 34, was charged Monday in the death of 36-year-old, black homeless woman, DeAndrea Citizen.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says the incident happened shortly before midnight Sunday in a supermarket parking lot in the county’s unincorporated northern suburbs about 18 miles north of Houston.
Fesus according to Gonzalez called from her nearby apartment to report she was walking her dog when she said she was attacked.
However, Gonzalez says witness statements conflicted with the woman’s account.
Video conflicted claim of shooting homeless woman in self defense
One of the homeless men in the area attempted to perform CPR on Citizen but to no avail. The witness statements–later allegedly vindicated by video footage, led police to arrest Fesus.
According to court records, Fesus went home, changed clothes and put her gun away after shooting Citizen before phoning in the incident to local authorities. Police say the homeless woman sustained a gunshot wound to the back, according to the Houston Chronicle.
During initial questioning by law enforcement, Fesus allegedly said she shot Citizen in self-defense because the woman was reaching for a handgun. According to law enforcement, that story later changed.
Fesus allegedly amended her statement by saying that Citizen ‘came at’ her aggressively in a manner that she believed meant the homeless woman had and was reaching for a handgun.
A witness on the scene, described as the deceased’s boyfriend, and also homeless, disputed both of those versions of events.
‘Words were exchanged,’ the man said, according to court records. Then came the fatal shot. The man asked his girlfriend if she had been shot. She then answered in the affirmative, fell down, and died.
Surveillance footage obtained refuted Fesus’ claims of having being threatened by the woman she admittedly killed, corroborating the account of the victim’s boyfriend.
Empowered because her victim was black?
Video according to the Chronicle shows Fesus shooting the victim before turning away and running.
Friends told ABC13 that Citizen was homeless and struggled with mental health issues.
They said she would typically sleep in front of a church located in the same shopping center as the Food Town. An employee who works at a store in the area described Citizen as ‘sweet.’
Commentators on social media wondered if Fesus would have still shot the woman had she been white or whether she felt empowered to claim her story of self defense because of the victim being black.
Fesus who does not have a prior criminal record remained in custody with bond set at $75,000. A public defender has been assigned to the defendant.
