Woman found shot to death inside running SUV in SW Houston

January 11, 2013 4:37:04 PM PST
Houston police may have a hard time solving a woman's murder. She was gunned down behind the wheel of her SUV, and there are few clues as to what may have happened. The woman was found dead along Birdwood near Renwick in southwest Houston late Thursday night. She was killed just a couple of blocks away from her apartment complex, and the murder has her friends and neighbors very concerned right now.

Friends are leaving stuffed animals and balloons, building a small roadside memorial in memory of a woman who was shot and left to die.

"She was great," said Kim Ortiz, a friend of the victim. "She was funny, friendly."

Ortiz says the 29-year-old victim was her best friend. Police say the woman was driving her SUV when an unknown person shot her in the head on the 5400 block of Birdwood around 11pm Thursday. Several neighbors woke up to the commotion.

Neighbor Lew Williams said, 'Heard three shots, very loud. It sounded like it was bang... and then bang, bang."

Investigators say the victim wasn't robbed. And they're speculating road rage could have played a part in this murder. The woman's friends just want some answers.

"She was trying to get back on her feet," Ortiz said. "She was bettering herself. She was going to school."

Police believe the victim backed her SUV off the street and onto a field trying to escape the gunman. A neighbor passing by found her dead behind the wheel. Several witnesses told police they saw a black Tahoe speeding from the scene after the shooting.

"I hope that if somebody knows that person or knows what happened, they could say something. Because we're all wondering," Ortiz said. "We all just want to know something. Something needs to be done. Justice needs to happen."

Officials have not yet released the victim's name. Investigators are canvassing the neighborhood and looking for surveillance video.


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