A suspect accused of breaking into a 90-year-old man’s Texas home and stabbing him to death with a screwdriver has been charged with murder.
Anthony Cerda, 34, was arrested Friday by Houston Police for the murder of Francisco Chura, who died last September after being attacked by the suspect, according to authorities.
Houston Police said in a recent press release that officers found Chura with “multiple blunt force trauma wounds” on August 20, 2025. Chura was sent to the hospital, but weeks later, on September 7, he died from his injuries.
On the night of the attack, Chura had been sleeping at his home, which was attached to a convenience store that he owned for decades, Law & Crime reported, citing a probable cause arrest affidavit.
Cerda allegedly jumped on top of Chura, punching him repeatedly and stabbing him with a screwdriver, according to the affidavit.
Chura told investigators that he played dead until the suspect ran away. He then hid in the bathroom until the sun came up before going to a neighbor’s house for help.
Police allegedly found Chura’s bed sheets soaked with blood, a bent and bloodied screwdriver and an empty, open safe. Chura said that about $3,000 in cash was missing from the safe.
Earlier this month, lab results allegedly showed that DNA from both Cerda and Chura was found on the screwdriver.
Those who knew Chura were shocked by his murder.
“Everybody knew him. Everybody grew up with him,” one neighbor told ABC13. “Everybody was surprised when that happened.”
The affidavit offered additional details about the investigation into Chura’s murder, which involved multiple people coming forward about the events leading up to the attack.
A man with long hair, a feature Chura said the suspect had, was seen by police hiding in a crawl space at a house near Chura’s home about two months after the attack, according to the affidavit.
The owner of the home said the man was her nephew, Cerda. She said Chura would sometimes loan Cerda money.
Investigators also heard from a man, who said that Chura told him the night before the attack that he had given money to an unidentified man who then returned to demand more money. But Chura reportedly refused to give him more money.
Another man told police that he was getting high with Cerda after the attack when he allegedly confessed, “I killed Pancho,” Chura’s nickname.
Cerda was being held in the Harris County jail as of Monday.
