On Dec. 2, 2001, Plumber Melton and Brown were ambushed at the latter’s apartment in southwest Houston as they prepared to attend a Christmas party. Brown was shot in the chest, and was found outside his apartment.

Plumber Melton had apparently been shot outside and had dragged herself to the living room. Police found a greeting card from Melton in her purse. “Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin,” he wrote on the card, quoting scripture. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.”

Homicide investigator Brian Harris told the Chronicle that Melton admitted to the killings but wouldn’t explain their brutality. “There was a lot of trying to justify his actions,” Harris said. “He described [his wife] as being a liar and very deceitful. He wasn’t ready to accept that the marriage was over.”