Estranged husband dies after fight at Katy-area home, deputies say

A family confrontation in west Harris County ended with an estranged husband dead in the front yard of a Sagrantino Court home, where deputies say his 15-year-old son held him in a chokehold until help arrived. The scene unfolded near Monticello Terrace, in a subdivision north of I-10 and east of the Grand Parkway in Katy.

Deputies were first called around 3:40 a.m. after the man's estranged wife reported he was banging on the door. Investigators said the couple was in the middle of a separation, that the husband had spent the night at a hotel, and that he returned early Tuesday and got inside, apparently using a keypad code. Inside the home were three children, the teen son and the man the woman is believed to be dating. Authorities said the husband fought with that man, and the confrontation spilled into the front yard.

Major Ben Katrib said the teen kept the father in the chokehold until deputies separated everyone. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said the estranged wife and the other adult man were detained for questioning, but no charges had been filed. The father was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences was still waiting on autopsy results to determine whether the chokehold, the fight or a combination of both caused the death, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office is expected to review the case.

The killing lands against a broader pattern of family violence and youth death in Harris County. The Houston Chronicle's child-gun-deaths database says firearm deaths among county children and adolescents under 18 have climbed steadily over the past five years, and Katy saw another deadly family disturbance in February 2025 when a father fatally shot his 22-year-old son during an argument at a home in the area.

Families in crisis can reach the Harris Center 24-hour mental health crisis line at 713-970-7000, Crisis Intervention of Houston/Harris County at 832-416-1177, the Houston Area Women's Center domestic violence hotline at 713-528-2121, Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse at 713-224-9911, or 988. The Harris County District Attorney's domestic violence division also handles protective-order cases free of cost and can be reached at 713-274-1508, with offices at 1200 Congress.