Three children are without their parents after a shooting believed to have been committed by a man wearing a ‘Halloween’ Michael Myers mask.
The murder took place Thursday evening at the Houston home of Eric Pait, who was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the garage around 11:15 p.m.
Just weeks ago, the 38-year-old’s estranged wife, Carman Peterson, was shot in her own apartment and killed in her bed as she slept. The killer is still at large.
The same is the case with the Pait incident, where the only suspect was a man seen in the area wearing a mask from the horror movie.
Two children were found unharmed in the home, police said, adding in a statement that another, a toddler, was away with a relative. Most notably, police investigated Pait as a person of interest in Peterson’s murder, but never identified him as a suspect.
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Police in Houston are looking for a man wearing a ‘Halloween’ Michael Myers mask who witnesses say shot and killed 38-year-old Eric Pait in his own garage on Thursday evening
Just weeks ago, the 38-year-old’s estranged wife, Carman Peterson (seen here with Pait), was gunned down in her own apartment — shot to death in her bed as she slept. The couple married in April 2019
“Are we 100 percent sure this is the person who did it?” No,” said Sgt. Harris County Detectives Michael Ritchie remained on scene well into Friday morning.
“But yeah, there was someone wearing a Michael Myers Halloween mask.
“Someone matching that description was seen in the area during the shooting,” he added at another point in the scene.
“Again, we are reviewing the video footage, processing the scene and interviewing witnesses to gather as much evidence as possible.”
Witnesses further told KHOU that the man in the Myers mask — who was seen lurking near the scene on surveillance footage — walked up to the victim while he was in the garage on Halloween night.
Peterson filed for divorce from Pait last March and at some point moved out. The killer remains at large
Pait was named as a person of interest in Peterson’s murder, but he was never officially named as a suspect
The murder occurred around 11 p.m., after which the homeowner was found in the garage with multiple gunshot wounds
Then he started shooting, they said — remembering how the bombardment of bullets came seemingly without warning.
“I was in my room and I heard about three or four shots, and it was so loud I thought it was my back door neighbors, but it was over there,” Monica Melgar told the station.
“Things like that don’t happen in this neighborhood.”
The woman added, “I’d like to think that someone doesn’t just randomly go out and kill whoever is outside, but it still makes you want to stay inside a little bit.”
Pait, meanwhile, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The same was said about Peterson in August, after she was shot while sleeping in her new apartment, not far from the home she shared with her husband.
“I never thought I would come across my sister, you know, lying in a murdered bed,” her sister Kimberly White told reporters after Pait’s murder, as both cases remain unsolved.
The two had three children together, two of whom were home when the murder occurred. No one was injured and the third was away with a family member, police said
Witnesses recalled how the masked man started shooting without warning after walking towards the deceased as he stood in his garage
Witnesses further told KHOU that the man in the Myers mask – who was seen lurking near the scene on CCTV footage – walked up to the victim while he was in the garage.
‘It was heartbreaking and devastating. “I never thought I would come across my murdered sister… with so many bullet holes,” she continued through tears.
“She was shot more than five times, so it was personal,” Sister Margaret Starghill said of the condition the event planner was found in.
‘Nothing was taken. It’s someone who had the motive to kill her because they hated her so much.”
Both added that Peterson had just filed for divorce in March as the connection between the two cases remains unclear and homicide investigators continue to look for a connection. The couple got married in April 2019, a page advertising their wedding shows.
Peterson had just filed for divorce in March, as the connection between the two cases remains unclear.
The victim’s sister, Margaret Starghill and Kimberly White, said again Friday that the August murder was personal, committed by someone who knew Peterson. Both cases remain unresolved
Police are looking for a connection, as no suspect has yet been named in Peterson’s case. She recently moved out of the house and into their own apartment, the family said
Meanwhile, police investigated Pait as a person of interest in the Peterson case, but never named him as a suspect.
A suspect has yet to be named in Peterson’s case, and the man in the Michael Myers mask remains at large.
DailyMail.com has contacted the Harris County Sheriff’s Department for comment as both cases remain under investigation.