HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A 20-year-old woman and her partner are facing capital murder charges in connection with the death of the woman’s older sister inside a west Houston apartment, according to court records.
Investigators said Aveyia Webb, 27, was found dead in her apartment in the 8100 block of Richmond Avenue on Thursday morning after relatives became concerned when they had not heard from her.
Webb’s aunt, Beverly Hobbs, said she went to check on her niece after Webb stopped responding, which family members said was out of character. Hobbs said she knocked on the apartment door and, when no one answered, went inside and found Webb dead on the couch.
“We would have never thought we had to protect her from her own little sister,” Aveyia’s aunt Edie Smith-Anderson said.
According to court documents, Webb’s sister, Alaya Jones, and Jones’ partner, Kaleb Maglott, robbed and killed Webb inside the apartment.
Both Jones and Maglott were arrested Thursday and are charged with capital murder, according to court records.
Family members said the two stole Webb’s vehicle and wallet. According to relatives, Jones had been living in Florida and had told family members she was coming to Houston to move back here. They also said investigators found text messages on Jones’ phone that they believe point to the alleged murder being planned.
“There were text messages exchanged from Alaya and her boyfriend planning to come here,” Smith-Anderson said. “They bought a gun in Florida, came here, verbatim, ‘Kill Aveyia and take her stuff’. And that was found on Alaya’s phone.”
Webb worked as a hairstylist and was preparing to begin pharmacy school, according to Rosie Hart, Webb’s boyfriend’s sister and one of her close friends. Hart said Webb brought positivity to the people around her and was known for her love of good food.
“She was really a very positive light in our life,” Hart said. “There was not a time that you could say anything negative about Aveyia.”
Relatives said Webb had a promising future and was ready to take on the world. Webb’s aunt Beverly Hobbs compared her to a butterfly about to spread her wings.
“She was ready to take on the world, and her light was taken out by not a stranger, but her family member, someone that she would have done anything for,” Hobbs said. “She had so many things going for her; that’s what makes this so hard.”
“This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.“