Texas mom allegedly shoots two kids dead, two others wounded as missing fifth child feared dead
Oninda Romelus, 31, was arrested Saturday in connection to the fatal shooting of two of her children in Texas.
A Texas mother, who once appeared on Paternity Court and was recently accused of killing her two kids and wounding two others, has a fifth child who is missing in a shocking twist to the horrifying case.
Oninda Romelus, 31, a tax agent originally from Haiti who had recently moved to Texas from Georgia, was arrested Saturday in Houston after being accused of killing her son, 13, and daughter, 3, inside a vehicle in the Lone Star State. She also allegedly injured her other son, 8, and daughter, 9, who survived the attack but remain in the hospital.
Police did not publicly name the children, but the fatal victims were identified by a local outlet as O’Karreo Covington and Amari Chapell.
Local authorities found all four children with gunshot wounds in her vehicle, an Audi sedan, at a Shell gas station after Romelus called 911 around 4:30 a.m. and asked them to meet her at the location, Brazoria County Sheriff Bo Stallman said.
READ MORE: Donald Trump issued brutal blow as all the president's lies listed by CNN reporterREAD MORE: Barron Trump's staggering height shattered his dream career, says brother EricInvestigators say the woman shot the children at a different location before driving to the gas station. Authorities, who quickly arrived at the scene and pulled her in for questioning at the gas station, noted in court documents that she appeared detached and unresponsive as they approached her and at points even gave disjointed answers.
“Instead of doing it to me, I’m gonna do it to them,” Romelus told police after they asked why she called 911.
When asked to clarify her statement, she allegedly said, “kill them all.” She also reportedly said that her children were dead and they were “with the devil,” adding “you can’t take me without me taking you.”
Following the shooting, and the mother’s arrest, authorities searched the family home, where they came to the surprising realization that Romelus had a fifth child, a 17-year-old, who had been missing for days. The search for the teen entered its fifth day Wednesday.
According to The Independent, investigators also uncovered a “large amount of social security cards and other identification documents containing identifying information and numerous individuals,” such as U.S. Treasury checks addressed to the home under different names.
Plea and attorney information did not immediately appear in online court records for Brazoria County or Montgomery County. The woman is being held on a $14 million bond.
Romelus appeared on Paternity Court, a family court TV series over a decade ago, when she was a teen mom, asking the show to help her determine who was the father of one of her children, then 18-month-old O’Karreo, one of the victims in the attack.
In the episode, DeWayne Seymore, Romelus’ then-fiance of four years, claimed that she had cheated on him with another man, Jeremy Covington, when the baby was conceived, which she admitted.
Neither of the men proved to be the father of the baby. The series had its last episode on YouTube more than a year ago.
A man who identified himself as the 3-year-old baby’s grandfather, as well as the injured eight-year-old boy, James Chappell, said his son, the father of the two children, is currently in prison. He told the Daily Mail he was shocked at learning about the crimes that Romelus allegedly committed.
He “didn’t see anything wrong with [Romelus’] personality” before the alleged shooting. “She seemed like a beautiful person. She had a wonderful job and everything.”