RICHMOND, TX (Covering Katy News) – Yaima Verjes, 22, was killed inside a Fort Bend County residential community for domestic violence survivors, and her boyfriend was charged with murder on Friday.
The shooting happened Wednesday, May 10, at about 6:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of Pultar Road in Richmond.
Fort Bend County Sheriff's deputies say Verjes was shot in the head by twenty-year-old Able Sosa.
At the time of the murder, Verjes and Sosa lived with his mother and their six-month-old daughter Emma. Since the murder, baby Emma has remained with Sosa's mother in the home where the shooting occurred, according to ABC 13.
Now, there is a battle between the grandparents for the infant's custody. Verjes' parents want Emma removed from the home where the killing happened.
"The only thing we will ever have is her, Emma," Verjes' sister Veronica said. "She's going to look like her mom. She has big eyes like her mom."
Go Fund Me
The mother of Baby Emma was shot to death and her father has been charged with murder
The Division of Family and Protective Services issued a statement about the case.
"Only a parent or the court can decide who has physical custody of a child. If we feel the child is not safe with the parent, we would ask them who they would want the child with. We run background checks and check out the person's home. We also look into whether that person already has a healthy and safe relationship established with the child. We try to keep the child in an environment that's as close to what they're used to and is also safe."
Veronica says her family was aware of problems in the couple's relationship and they tried to intervene.
"She struggled a lot over there. I can tell you that. But she was so in love with this guy she didn't see any of that," Veronica said.
Verjes' family wants to hire an attorney to fight for custody. They set up a GoFundMe page to help with the costs associated with the loss.
Sosa is now behind bars at the county jail, and his bond is set at $500,000.
"It is a great tragedy that a young life was taken away," said Sheriff Eric Fagan. "Although this investigation continues, I thank our deputies and investigators for their hard work to bring some peace of mind to the victim's family."