Houston-area man who left kids at home with dead mother charged with murder

Jason Armster, 37, was charged with murder for allegedly shooting his wife and then leaving the couple's three children alone with her body. Jason Armster, 37, was charged with murder for allegedly shooting his wife and then leaving the couple's three children alone with her body. Photo: Harris County Sheriff's Office Photo: Harris County Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Houston-area man who left kids at home with dead mother charged with murder 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Houston-area man who allegedly confessed he killed his wife – leaving his three children alone at home with her corpse – was charged with her murder, police say.

Jason Armster, 37, told Baytown police officers at their station on Tuesday that he had warrants out for his arrest and wanted to turn himself in, according to prosecutors. For some reason, the officers decided to not arrest him on the warrants and placed him in the back of a police car, prosecutors read in court.

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That’s when he said he needed to be in jail because his wife was dead, authorities said. Deputies went to his home in the 13100 block of Ashley Meadow Lane and were greeted at the door by the couple’s three children, who pointed to a bedroom where they thought their mother was asleep.

Deputies found the woman, identified as 36-year-old Charlene Armster, lifeless in her bed with a single gunshot wound in the back of her head, prosecutors said.

Armster later told officers he thought the woman was having an affair when he shot her, prosecutors said. He told police he repositioned her body and covered her up in blankets because “he did not want their kids to see her like that,” prosecutors said.

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He then scooped up the shell casing, tossing it and the gun off the Fred Hartman Bridge into the Houston Ship Channel, he allegedly told police.

Armster was charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence. The 37-year-old has four separate arrests and at least one prison stint for domestic violence-related crimes dating back to March 2004, according to Harris County court records.

Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com