Texas’ governor has boosted the reward for information in the case of an 8-year-old Houston girl fatally shot on Feb. 23 after her mother was involved in a car crash.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced that his office’s Criminal Justice Division is offering up to $10,000 for information that helps police identify and arrest those who killed De’Maree Adkins. The original Crime Stoppers’ reward was up to $5,000.
The child’s mother, Latoyia Thomas, was involved in a crash about 2 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Beltway 8 and West Fuqua, according to Houston police. Someone pulled out a gun and started shooting Thomas’ car, striking the girl who had been sleeping in the backseat before the crash.
Thomas believes it was a woman who opened fire.
“I don’t know who it was and I don’t know why she was shooting,” she said.
After shots were fired, the mother didn’t realize her daughter was injured until she tried to take her out of the car. That’s when she noticed blood on De’Maree’s jacket.
“I told her to stay with me, stay with me,” Thomas said, breaking down into tears. “Her body just went limp.”
Paramedics transported De’Maree to the hospital, where she later died. Thomas was not injured.
Tipsters must send information to Houston Crime Stoppers by calling the hotline at 713-222-8477, texting TIP610 plus the information to 274637, or submitting online at crime-stoppers.org. Tipsters can remain anonymous.