HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A bizarre murder in north Harris County on Friday has devastated a widow and her young children.
Luis Silva Mendez was installing kitchen cabinets in a client’s home when he was killed.
“Pappa, pappa. He’s always calling for his father,” Orfila Sara Lopez said through tears while her 2-year-old son watches. The last time the family saw Luis Silva Mendoza was on Friday morning, as he drove off in his silver F150 truck to do work at a long-time client’s home.
“That morning, he gave me a lot of kisses, and told me he loved me a lot,” Lopez she said in Spanish. “Like he felt something was going to happen.”
Hours later, investigators say Steven Eberly, who lived inside the home on the 4000 block of Tim Allen Drive, would attack and kill Silva. Neighbors say Silva has worked for the home’s owner, described in court documents as Eberly’s girlfriend, on a number of occasions.
Friday’s events took a more bizarre turn when investigators alleged that Eberly, after he killed Silva, found another person to help him move some boxes. Records show that witness saw the body, panicked, then jumped in Silva’s work truck and took off. Eberly apparently jumped in the back of the work trailer.
The truck quickly crashed just a few minutes away from the home. Soon, detectives would find Silva’s body in the box and detain Eberly. He is now charged with murder, and two additional charges.
During his initial probable cause court appearances, prosecutors allege that Eberly stabbed Silva, then tried to throw away the knife as well as Silva’s phone. He’s now being held on a $2 million bond.
“I don’t know what to do. He was the breadwinner,” the widow, who is trying to figure out how to raise a 2-year-old and a 7-year-old all alone, said.
This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.