Inset: Anthony Cerda (Houston police). Background: Convenience store in the 7800 block of Canal Street in Houston, Texas (KTRK).
A Texas man allegedly broke into the home of a 90-year-old man by taking the air-conditioning unit out of a window and repeatedly stabbing him with a screwdriver.
Anthony Cerda, 34, is charged with capital murder in the death of Francisco Chura, Houston police say. Cops responded to Cerda's home in the 7800 block of Canal Street around 9 a.m. Aug. 20, 2025, for a stabbing. Paramedics rushed the victim to the hospital where he died on Sept. 7, 2025.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, Cerda attacked Chura at his home which was attached to the convenience store he owned for decades. Chura was sleeping when Cerda allegedly jumped on top of him and punched him repeatedly and stabbed him with the screwdriver. The victim was suffering from several "small circular stabbing wounds." Cops found Chura's bed sheets soaked with blood.
Investigators noted a safe was wide open with nothing inside, indicating the murder was likely a robbery. They also found a bent screwdriver with blood on it.
The victim told detectives that he played dead until the suspect ran away. He hid in the bathroom until he saw sunlight and ran to a neighbor's house to ask for help. Chura said roughly $3,000 in cash was missing from his safe. He described the suspect as having long hair.
About two months after the stabbing, detectives saw a man with long hair hiding in a crawl space at a home near the crime scene, the affidavit said. He was seemingly trying to hide from police. The homeowner identified the man as her nephew, Cerda. She said he would sometimes stay at her home when he needed a place to live.
She said Cerda would often go inside the store and Chura would sometimes loan him money. He was in the store a day or so before the homicide, per cops. She called Chura's death "such a sad story" and told police that they needed to "get to the bottom of it."
Cerda told detectives he did not kill Chura and said he never had been inside the store.
Detectives spoke with another witness who said he went to the store on the night before the slaying but the door was locked. Chura let him inside and recounted how he gave money to a man who then returned a second time and demanded more cash. Chura refused and "kicked him out." The witness asked who the man was but Chura declined to tell him.
In January 2026, cops interviewed a man who spoke with Cerda after the alleged murder. He said they were hanging out and getting high together when Cerda allegedly stated "I killed Pancho," which is Chura's nickname.
The big break in the case came when DNA results came back earlier this month. A lab determined the screwdriver had DNA from two people: Chura and Cerda.
Police obtained an arrest warrant for Cerda on Friday. He was already in the Harris County Jail on an unrelated charge. He is slated to appear in court on Monday.
A neighbor told local ABC affiliate KTRK that Chura was well known in the neighborhood and often helped people in need.
"Everybody grew up with him," the neighbor said. "Everybody was surprised when that happened."
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