ANGLETON, Texas (WKRC) – A mother allegedly shot four of her five children, then drove them to a gas station and pumped gas as they bled out. Police said one of her children is still unaccounted for.
According to court documents obtained by Fox 26, authorities received a 911 call from 31-year-old Oninda Romelus, who requested officers meet her at an Oasis convenience store and gas station.
When the first officer arrived, he saw Romelus pumping gas into her vehicle, per an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. Romelus’ vehicle reportedly had the engine running and all of its door open, and officers immediately noticed a “white sheet covering a small child’s body that was lying on the ground behind the vehicle.”
Police quickly spotted a second body “on the passenger side of the car between the car and the gas pump… with its body hanging halfway out of the front passenger door, with legs in the vehicle and the upper torso and head on the ground,” per the affidavit.
Investigators reviewed security cameras at the gas station that allegedly showed Romelus arrive at the scene while talking on the phone, walk around the vehicle to start pumping gas, and taking a quick peek into the rear window.
Romelus did not initially respond to deputies when they arrived and attempted to back away from them, but was quickly apprehended, the affidavit said. Upon peering into Romelus’ vehicle, deputies reportedly found a male suffering from gunshot wounds in the passenger seat and three children in the back seat that had also been shot. Deputies quickly performed life-saving measures on the victims, but two were pronounced dead at the scene and the other two were taken to the hospital.
Romelus reportedly “wasn’t making any sense” during her initial interview. During interrogation, Romelus appeared paranoid and suspicious, eventually saying, “Instead of them doing it to me, I’m gonna do it to them.” When asked for clarification, she specified that she was talking about killing, per the affidavit. Romelus also allegedly said that she did not call 911, she called the “devil.”
Police soon learned that Romelus had five children, per a release from the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office. Her 13-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter were pronounced dead at the scene, but her 8-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter were taken to the hospital.
The fifth child, a 17-year-old, was unaccounted for at the scene. Authorities visited Romelus’ home to conduct a search warrant and check on the welfare of the teenager, but they were not found in the residence. Instead, authorities found multiple indicators of alleged fraud that Romelus was committing.
Fox 26 published a list of items found in the house, according to court documents, that included 44 ID cards, 15 credit cards, 2 Treasury checks, 15 packages of blank checks, 2 social security cards, and much more.
Romelus was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Authorities were still searching for the 17-year-old as of the sheriff’s office announcement.