Inset: Norman Lee Johnson (Harris County Sheriff's Office). Background: The suburban home where Johnson allegedly killed two people in Katy, Tex. (Google Maps).
A Texas man is behind bars after shooting and killing his biological daughter's adoptive parents, Lone Star State law enforcement says.
Norman Lee Johnson, 42, stands accused of two counts of capital murder in connection with the deaths of Christopher Lopez, 52, and Trinette Rayson-Lopez, 52, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
The underlying incident occurred earlier this month at a residence on Bent Springs Lane in Katy, a small town located in the western reaches of Harris County, some 30 miles due west of Houston.
On Jan. 12, just after 6 a.m., one of the couple's adult children called 911 to report that his mother and father had been shot and could not be helped, Houston-based Fox affiliate KRIV reported. Investigators believe the fatal flurry of gunfire started around 5:43 a.m. and said there were no signs of forced entry at the suburban home.
Inside, deputies found a grim scene. Christopher Lopez was suffering from a lone gunshot wound to the face, and Trinette Rayson-Lopez was shot twice in the head and once in the left hand.
The man was found near the main living room and the woman was found near the kitchen, authorities said. Also inside were two adults in their 20s and a 7-year-old girl, who were asleep when the violence began. All three were unharmed and were the children of the victims.
On the day in question, the couple's adult children were upstairs when they heard a commotion downstairs and later went downstairs to discover the worst, according to Houston-area CBS affiliate KHOU.
On Tuesday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced in a social media post that Johnson had been arrested and charged in the case, saying his "motive likely stemmed from custodial issues."
The defendant turned up in Round Rock, a large suburb of Austin some 175 miles northwest of Houston. He was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Task Force and booked into the Williamson County Jail. He will eventually be extradited back to Harris County.
"We hope that he is charged to the fullest extent of the law," the adult children told KHOU after the arrest was announced. "Our parents deserve justice and to know that we are safe from his harm."
In October 2024, Johnson was charged with one count of misdemeanor harassment after allegedly threatening to kill Christopher Lopez over the child custody issue, Harris County court records show.
That alleged threat was made to Christopher Lopez and another family member after Johnson was told "he needed to speak with Child Protective Services in order to change any custody orders, which resulted in the defendant becoming irate," according to a criminal complaint in that earlier case obtained by Law&Crime.
In that earlier case, the other family member allegedly being threatened by the defendant is identified as Norman Lee Johnson Sr., and is referred to as the guardian of the defendant's daughter. And, at the time, that charging document says Christopher Lopez has known the defendant "for approximately 20 years" and described him as a "family member due to the defendant being the son of Johnson, Sr., and Johnson Sr. is a family member of Lopez's spouse."
"There are previous calls for service here…so we're gonna be investigating that as well," Gonzalez, the sheriff, previously said in an initial press conference about the murders.
In an interview with KHOU, the couple's adult children described the 7-year-old girl as an adopted cousin — not a foster child. The siblings added their parents were high school sweethearts, disputing an earlier law enforcement claim that "an ex" might have been involved.
"I know there were multiple shots, but I heard one," the adult daughter said. "So, it might have been the last one, but I heard one big shot."