Investigators said three children were inside the Cloverleaf home when gunfire broke out.

CLOVERLEAF, Texas — A Harris County man accused of killing his wife during an argument over his back pain has been charged with murder after deputies found her shot multiple times inside the couple’s home on May 2.

Jose Arquimides Romero, 43, was taken into custody after the fatal shooting of Yanira Marin de Romero, 39, at a home on Texarkana Street in the Cloverleaf area east of Houston. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said Romero called 911 himself and told dispatchers he had shot his wife. The case left three children without their mother and moved quickly from a domestic violence call to a murder charge.

The shooting happened shortly after 1 p.m. on a Saturday, when deputies were sent to the house after the emergency call. Investigators said Romero remained at the residence and was detained without incident when deputies arrived. Inside, deputies found Marin de Romero on the bathroom floor with several gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said investigators were told Romero was upset because Marin de Romero was not taking his back pain seriously enough. The sheriff’s office later said Romero told homicide detectives he shot and killed her for that reason.

Three children, ages 3, 8 and 13, were inside the home when the shooting occurred, according to local reports citing investigators. Officials said the children hid when the gunfire began and were not physically injured. Authorities have not said whether any of the children saw the shooting or heard the argument before it turned deadly. Investigators also have not released details about the firearm, the number of shots fired or whether deputies had previously responded to the home. The sheriff’s office described the case as a fatal domestic violence shooting and said the investigation remained active.

The couple lived in Cloverleaf, an unincorporated community in the Houston metro area where single-family homes sit near industrial roads, schools and small businesses east of the city. Relatives who wrote about Marin de Romero after her death described a family that appeared close and a marriage they believed had been strong. One loved one wrote that the family was shattered and said the couple had been together since adolescence. The relative called them “a marriage I could call almost perfect” and said they had been a source of pride for their family.

Romero was booked into the Harris County Jail after his arrest. Court records cited by local media show he was charged with murder and was expected to appear in court the following Tuesday. Prosecutors will have to prove the charge in court, and Romero is presumed innocent unless convicted. Authorities did not immediately release information about an attorney for him. The case is now in the early stages, with detectives expected to continue reviewing the 911 call, statements from people at the home, physical evidence and any prior records connected to the couple.

The killing drew attention because of the reason investigators said Romero gave after the shooting. The stated motive, centered on a dispute about pain, stood in sharp contrast to the family image relatives described online. A relative wrote that Marin de Romero “left this world perhaps without even knowing what happened in that moment.” Another post said the children would no longer have their parents together. Officials have not released the children’s names, and there was no public indication that they were physically hurt after hiding inside the home.

The home on Texarkana Street became the center of a homicide investigation within hours. Deputies processed the scene while neighbors and relatives learned that a woman had been killed in a place where three children had also been present. The sheriff’s office said Romero was detained without incident, a detail that marked the end of the immediate threat but not the end of the case. Investigators still must build a record of what happened before the 911 call, what was said during the argument and how the shooting unfolded inside the bathroom.

Romero remained the only person publicly accused in the killing. The next major step is the court process in Harris County, where prosecutors will move the murder case forward and investigators may release more details through filings, hearings or future statements.

Author note: Last updated June 2, 2026.