SPLENDORA- Police believe a Splendora man brutally beat his wife early Monday, then drove her to a Houston hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Jose Israel Garcia-Ticas, 29, was booked into the Montgomery County Jail at 3:13 p.m. on Monday, charged with the murder of 25-year-old Sabrina Silva.
Garcia-Ticas’ bond is set at $400,000. Officials say, contrary to rumor, Garcia is a naturalized US citizen. There is no ICE hold on him.
Garcia-Ticas arrived at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital with his wife already deceased inside the vehicle, officials said. When hospital personnel asked for his address, Garcia-Ticas said the family recently moved to the Splendora area and he was unable to recall it.
Lt. Bill Bucks of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said Garcia-Ticas initially stated that he arrived home and found his wife already injured, apparently from a beating, and then rushed her to the hospital. LBJ officials notified the Houston Police Department of the situation. Bucks said HPD contacted the MCSO around 2:45 a.m. and Montgomery County detectives went to the hospital to interview Garcia-Ticas, who eventually recanted his story involving an unknown third party assaulting his wife before he arrived.
“During interviews, the husband confessed to beating her,” Bucks said.
Meanwhile, MCSO patrol deputies located the house at 14575 Three S St., near FM 2090 in East Montgomery County. Bucks said the residence was an “obvious crime scene.” Patrol deputies secured the home, and then contacted the MCSO Major Crimes Unit, whose detectives and crime scene investigators searched the residence.
The couple’s three children, ages 2 to 5, are believed to have been at home during the attack, Bucks said. It is unknown what, if anything, the children witnessed. Bucks said preliminary information indicates Garcia-Ticas dropped the children off at a relative’s home as he took Silva to the hospital. Monday night it was undetermined whether Silva died inside their home, or their vehicle, Bucks said. Her remains were transported to the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office and an autopsy to be performed on Tuesday, which may yield more answers. Their vehicle was seized as evidence and transported to Conroe.
According to Mapquest, the distance from their residence to LBJ Hospital at 5656 Kelley St. in Houston is around 40 miles, with an estimated travel time of about 45 minutes under ideal conditions. The most direct path is along US 59, which has several hospital exits between Splendora and the exit for LBJ Hospital.
Public Data shows Garcia-Ticas was first incarcerated as a juvenile. No violent crimes are listed with his given name and date of birth.
MCSO Major Crimes detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are continuing their investigation.
