On September 1, 2026, Robert Charles Howerton, 65, of Vidor, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division.
The case stems from a shooting that occurred Thursday, July 31, 2025, at a residence on Hickory Drive in Vidor. Officers with the Vidor Police Department were dispatched to the home following a report of a shooting.
When officers arrived, Howerton exited the residence and told them that he had shot his wife. Officers entered the home and found Tonia Howerton deceased in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to the back of her head. A 9mm pistol was also located inside the residence.
Howerton told officers that his wife had told him she was going to the bank to withdraw all of the money, and that he believed he would lose the house. He told officers that he “couldn’t take it” and that he “didn’t want to shoot her.”
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