Corey Campbell, Darlene Solis (Harris County District Attorney’s Office)
A construction worker looking for a job convicted of shooting his ex-girlfriend four times in 2020 after taking her in has been sentenced to spend the next four decades behind Texas prison walls .
Corey Lewis Campbell, 34, ran home from Houston, Texas to his mother in North Carolina after murdering Darlene Solis, 33, on April 28, 2020 for “absolutely no reason”, said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg after Monday’s sentencing. put the defendant behind bars.
Prosecutors said Campbell moved from North Carolina to Texas in 2016 to work in construction. After that time, he and Solis were described as dating “on and off for about three years.” In 2020, when they were no longer dating, Solis decided to help Campbell out while her ex figured out what he was up to for the job next. Solis was romantically involved with another man at the time, but she took Campbell in and let him stay at the West Little York apartment where he murdered her.
On the day of the murder, the suspect and victim were alone in the apartment, prosecutors said. Campbell opened fire with a pistol four times, killing Solis, and left the murder weapon under a bed, according to the prosecutor’s office. After that, the killer ran to his mother.
“When he reached this state,” prosecutors said, “he left the car in a Wal-Mart parking lot and asked his mother to pick him up.”
After Darlene Solis’ family did not hear from her for the next two days, prosecutors said, her mother Judy called her ex-husband – Darlene’s stepfather – and asked him to watch over her daughter. The stepfather was working that day as a deputy in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. It was he who made the macabre discovery in the apartment of the murder of their beloved. The deputy called 911.
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A 2020 obituary said Solis was “full of life, very humble and always made everyone laugh with her vibrant personality”.
“She was loved by her large extended family and many friends from all over. She was an adventurous young woman; his passion was the sea and his love for traveling to see the world. She was hard working and dedicated to her job,” Solis’ family said. “Outside of work, her priorities were spending time with her beloved family and close friends. She had an amazing personality that brightened up the room with her beautiful smile.
Darlene was the sister of three brothers, each of whom served as pallbearers at her funeral. One of his brothers, Sgt. Jose Vallejo III, is an active member of the United States Army. Prosecutors said Solis’ military brother attended Campbell’s two-week trial before he was scheduled to return to the military. His victim impact statement, a letter, was read out in court. Many other family members attended the trial from start to finish.
“We stand with the family and mourn this dynamic young woman who was shot in her prime for no reason,” DA Ogg said in a statement. “All too often, domestic violence leads to gun violence, and it just doesn’t make sense.”
Assistant District Attorney Ryan McLearen said Campbell killed Solis “in cold blood and then fled.”
“He took a daughter, he took a sister, he took an aunt, and the jury got the right sentence,” the prosecutor said.
Although Campbell was sentenced to serve 40 years behind bars, he will be eligible for parole after 20 years, according to the DA.
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