Inset: Onindas Romelus (Fayette County Sheriff’s Office). Background: A Texas gas station where Oninda Romelus allegedly went after shooting her four children (KHOU/YouTube).
A Texas mother accused of gunning down her four children, killing two of them, reportedly has another teenage child who is unaccounted for.
The Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search at Oninda Romelus’ residence after she appeared at a gas station with four of her five children — aged 3, 8, 9, and 13 — all suffering gunshot injuries. Her eldest child, a 17-year-old boy, was not present in the vehicle, and his whereabouts were still unknown as of Tuesday evening, as reported by local Fox and NBC affiliates KRIV and KPRC, respectively.
According to the search warrant, reported by the outlets, deputies entered the home forcefully, aiming to find the missing teenager, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
What they did find was mounds of alleged evidence related to fraud that Romelus was possibly committing, per cops.
The items seized included 33 social security cards, 48 identification cards, 16 credit cards, 2 treasury checks in envelopes, 15 packs of blank checks, 2 unwrapped piles of blank checks, and other objects suggesting possible illegal activities, according to KPRC.
The warrant states that the social security cards and treasury checks were sent to Romelus’ home but were in other people’s names. Additionally, shipping labels, phones, computers, laptops, printers, and other devices allegedly used for creating fraudulent identification were found in an office, KPRC reports.
The sheriff’s office did not respond to requests for comment by Law&Crime on Wednesday about the items and missing child.
Romelus, 31, faces charges of two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the incident that occurred on Saturday in Brazoria County before 4:45 a.m., according to court documents acquired by Law&Crime. She purportedly told the police that she acted preemptively against her children, indicating “instead of them doing it to me, I’m gonna do it to them,” referring to the murders, and claimed they are now “with the devil.”
Police say the Montgomery County mother called 911 and asked authorities to meet her at a gas station in Angleton. Her children were in the vehicle when authorities arrived. Deputies responded to find that Romelus had allegedly killed the youngest and the oldest, while the two middle children survived.
According to the criminal complaint, Romelus was in a white passenger car with the engine running and “all of the doors opened,” per the deputy.
“[The cop] observed the body was positioned 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,” the complaint says of one of the victims.
Surveillance footage allegedly shows Romelus pulling into the gas station and pumping gas, with police saying she purchased $56 worth of fuel.
“Romelus was talking on her phone as she can be seen getting fuel,” the complaint says. “She is observed walking around to the driver’s side of the vehicle, where she peers into the rear window before sitting back in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.”
Once cops arrived, they saw what was allegedly going on and jumped into action, performing lifesaving measures on the children, according to the complaint. “Two of the four children showed no signs of life, and the other two children were life-flighted to Memorial Hermann Hospital Downtown,” the document says.
After receiving her Miranda rights, Romelus began speaking with police while appearing “paranoid about her surroundings.” She was asked why she called 911 and initially stated that she “couldn’t talk about it” before allegedly confessing.
“Instead of them doing it to me, I’m gonna do it to them,” Romelus said, according to the complaint.
“Do what?” a deputy asked.
“Kill them all,” Romelus allegedly replied.
