Court records reveal child witnessed northwest Harris County killing

A child told investigators he saw part of the attack inside a northwest Harris County home, heard gunshots and screaming, and then watched Keith Washington run away. Court records also say the boy saw Washington chase his wife into a bedroom before the shots were fired, adding a direct eyewitness account to a killing that has already shaken the Cypress area.

The records show more than a single witness account. A friend was on a live video call with the victim when the attack began and captured audio from inside the home, including the woman pleading with Washington before the call disconnected. Investigators also said two children, ages 6 and 18, were inside the house when the shooting happened, though neither was physically injured. The combination of a child witness, live audio and electronic evidence gives prosecutors a detailed account of how the killing unfolded.

Earlier reports identified the victim as a 44-year-old woman shot and killed by her estranged husband during a domestic disturbance at the home. Harris County authorities identified the suspect as Keith Washington and said he was booked into the Harris County Jail after a several-hour standoff. Washington later faced a murder charge. The new court records expand what was previously known from a fatal shooting into a more complete picture of family violence, witness trauma and the evidence now in the case file.

The case also lands in the middle of a wider crisis across Harris County and Texas. Local reporting has cited a 34% increase in domestic-violence-related homicides in Harris County between 2023 and 2024. The Texas Council on Family Violence said Harris County had 47 domestic-violence homicide victims in 2024, the highest total of any Texas county. Statewide, the council reported 161 Texans were killed by domestic violence in 2024, and 104 children lost a parent to that violence.

For Harris County, the case points to both the criminal and public-safety stakes of domestic violence. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office includes domestic-violence resources that allow survivors to seek protective orders through its Domestic Violence Division, a reminder that the county’s response reaches beyond prosecution alone. In this case, though, the evidence now described in court records suggests investigators already have a strong factual record tied directly to the moments before and after the gunfire.