An elderly Houston shop owner was attacked in his own bed after a man allegedly forced entry by removing a window air-conditioning unit, leading to a weeks-long fight for life that ended in his death, according to police.
HOUSTON, TX – A 34-year-old man is facing a capital murder charge after police say he broke into a 90-year-old man’s home and repeatedly stabbed him with a screwdriver during a robbery at a convenience store residence on Canal Street. The victim, identified as Francisco Chura, died Sept. 7 after being hospitalized for injuries suffered in the Aug. 20 attack.
Officers were first called to the 7800 block of Canal Street around 9 a.m. on Aug. 20, where paramedics transported Chura to a hospital. Investigators later determined the attack occurred inside the home attached to the convenience store Chura had operated for decades.
Details from affidavit and crime scene evidence
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, Chura was asleep when the suspect, identified as Anthony Cerda, allegedly entered by removing a window air-conditioning unit. Cerda then “jumped on top of him,” punching and stabbing him repeatedly with a screwdriver, investigators wrote.
Authorities documented multiple “small circular stabbing wounds” on the victim and found his bed sheets soaked in blood. A bent screwdriver with blood on it was recovered at the scene, along with a safe that was open and empty, suggesting a robbery.
Chura told detectives he pretended to be dead until the attacker fled. He then hid in a bathroom until daylight before running to a neighbor’s home for help. He reported that about $3,000 in cash was missing from his safe and described the suspect as having long hair.
Witness accounts and arrest developments
Investigators later located a man matching that description hiding in a crawl space at a nearby home roughly two months after the attack. The homeowner identified him as her nephew, Cerda, and said he would stay with her when he needed a place to live.
She told police Cerda was familiar with Chura and had been inside the store before, sometimes receiving loans from the victim. She described the case as “such a sad story” and said authorities needed to “get to the bottom of it.”
Cerda denied involvement, telling detectives he did not kill Chura and claiming he had never been inside the store.
Another witness told investigators he visited the store the night before the attack and was let in by Chura, who said he had given money to a man who later returned demanding more. Chura refused and “kicked him out,” according to the witness.
In January, a separate witness reported that while “hanging out and getting high together,” Cerda allegedly said, “I killed Pancho,” using Chura’s nickname.
The case saw a major development earlier this month when DNA testing revealed the screwdriver contained genetic material from both Chura and Cerda. Police then obtained a warrant for Cerda’s arrest on Friday. He was already in custody at the Harris County Jail on an unrelated charge and is scheduled to appear in court Monday.
Neighbors described Chura as a longtime fixture in the community. “Everybody grew up with him,” one neighbor told KTRK. “Everybody was surprised when that happened.”
Anthony Cerda, Francisco Chura, Houston Canal Street stabbing, convenience store owner killed, Harris County capital murder