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Texas Mother Fatally Shot by Estranged Husband in Murder-Suicide After She'd Called Police on Him Multiple Times
Nityadevi Ramroop told police that she was being stalked and harassed by her estranged husband before he shot her to death in a murder-suicide days before their divorce was to be finalized, her attorney says.
A Texas mother of three was shot dead outside her home by her estranged husband after she had repeatedly reported him to police for abuse, according to her lawyer.
Nityadevi Ramroop, 35, arrived home from work on October 31 at around 11 p.m. when her estranged husband shot her in her driveway, Houston station KHOU reported. He then stabbed his wife’s 25-year-old sister after forcing himself into Ramroop’s home in Katy, a town roughly 30 miles west of Houston. Ramroop’s three children were inside.
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Ramroop’s husband reportedly then fled the scene and was found half of a mile away from the home, where he fatally shot himself, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
Uche Ohia, Ramroop’s attorney, told ABC13 that the shooting took place just days before the couple’s divorce was to be finalized.
"Her increasing fear was the trial coming up that he would do something to harm her," Ohia told the outlet. "She was being told by his friends that he was saying some very alarming things.”
Why did Nityadevi Ramroop call the police about her husband before her murder?
Ohia claimed that his client was failed by the system, saying that Ramroop had called the police three or four times about her estranged husband’s allegedly abusive behavior before she was murdered, and that no charges were filed and police told her there was nothing they could do. "There were multiple incidents where she was fearful this man was stalking her,” Ohia said. “They [authorities] told her on a couple of occasions, and myself, since he did not commit a crime, that there was nothing they can actually do to prosecute him and if he did do anything that would constitute a crime in their eyes."
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told ABC13 that in one instance in June, in which Ramroop called about a stalking situation with her husband, she was told to contact her attorney.
According to Ohia, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services got involved at one point after the school Ramroop’s children attended received an anonymous tip, though an investigation was not pursued.
“Honestly, I’m devastated," Ohia told KHOU. "Ms. Ramroop was a wonderful person, a wonderful client and I wanted to help her get out of a very terrible situation. To hear that her worst fears come to pass, it just breaks my heart."
Ramroop and her husband had been together for 18 years, Ohia told People. During their relationship, her husband allegedly abused and threatened her. In one instance, Ohia recalled to the outlet, he was “playing around with knives” in front of her, became aggressive and “pushed her down” in front of their children.
“She was afraid he was going to continue abusing her more so because she wanted a divorce," the attorney told People.
According to Ohia, the couple was in the middle of a battle for custody of the children and marital property. In addition to her husband’s threats, Ramroop was allegedly subjected to harassment from his family. Ohia said that they contacted her workplace and that the husband's sister once tailed her to grocery store and confronted her.
Ohia told People that Ramroop was hopeful that the situation would resolve itself, saying: "We had many conversations about what she should do to protect herself, her children, to get her share of the marital estate and start her life over."
