The Galveston County District Attorney's office is expanding community outreach in response to a recent uptick in domestic violence across the county.
Officials said three murders involving domestic violence happened over the course of a week in late June. Prosecutors alleged that in each case, a woman was murdered by a male partner. In response, officials said they are working to expand their outreach to those facing domestic violence.
"I’m pretty disgusted about it because what would cause something like that?" Galveston County District Attorney Kenneth Cusick said at a Tuesday news conference.
The three men charged in the separate cases are 21-year-old Kristian McMurrin, 73-year-old Lee Sims and 38-year old Isaiah Johnson, according to the district attorney's office and county court records.
McMurrin was charged with murder and aggravated assault after Texas City police found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds on June 23. One of the victims, 25-year-old Nakia Kelley, died from her injuries, according to police. Kusick alleges Kelley was shot while trying to protect her sister from McMurrin.
Sims was charged with murder byTexas City police in the death of 42-year-old Angela Gray, who was shot in the chest. Kusick said the murder happened in the house that Gray and Sims allegedly shared.
Johnson was charged with murder for allegedly killing his ex-girlfriend, Joanna Walton, in League City, according toABC13 reporting. According to the news report, police alleged that Johnson tried to shoot Walton in 2023, but after the gun jammed, he "pistol-whipped" her.
According to the news outlet, Johnson pleaded guilty, but then allegedly broke into Walton's home while on probation. He wasn't served an arrest warrant on the burglary charge until he turned himself in on Monday for the murder charge.
"Somewhere in the system, somewhere in our society, we failed these three ladies, and I'm just telling you, we're going to readdress our procedure at the district attorney's office with the county law enforcement to tighten up the ways we can try to prevent it," Kusick said Tuesday afternoon.
The court-appointed defense attorneys for Johnson and McMurrin did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. An attorney for Sims was not listed in online court records as of Wednesday afternoon.
Kate Willis, the chief violence against women prosecutor for Galveston County, said there have been 1,466 reports of family violence in Galveston County in 2026 alone.
"These are the statistics and we cannot let these women just be a statistic," Willis said.
Willis said the district attorney's office is prosecuting the three cases and plans to hold community forums for those experiencing violence in the county.
"The plan is to actually have community outreach at the community centers in each of these cities to meet with local individuals who that may be happening in their home. It might be happening to their friend. They may have seen it in their lives already or they themselves may be a victim, but we will go to them and let them know what those resources are and make sure that they know how to get them," Willis said.
Willis said in addition to outreach in communities, her division plans to do more law enforcement training as well as training within the district attorney's office so that prosecutors are better aware of what to look for in cases involving domestic violence.
Willis highlighted domestic violence resources within a new county-wide guide, such as shelters and housing in the area, hotlines and groups like theTexas Council on Family Violence.
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