HOUSTON — Records show the man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, who was holding their child at the time, is now back in custody.
Zacchaeus Rashad Gaston, 27, is charged with murder, assault with bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest. Houston police stated Gaston was arrested Wednesday evening and was booked overnight.
He is accused of killing 24-year-old Layla Steele while she was holding their son, Zeus, on July 1 in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 11200 block of Westpark Drive. Zeus was also hurt in the shooting.
Shortly after the crime and as the search for the suspect got underway, Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Patricia Cantu said the gunman was out of jail on seven felony bonds at the time.
He was wearing an ankle monitor at the time but was able to get away.
Steele was transported to a Houston hospital where she was pronounced dead. Their one-year-old son also suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, police said.
Witnesses told police they saw the man and woman engaged in a physical altercation outside the apartments just before the shooting.
Police talked to Steele's mother the day after the killing, and her mom said she was on the phone with her daughter just prior to the gunfire.
In the court documents, investigators reported that Steele's mom said she heard her daughter and Gaston arguing and then heard Gaston tell her daughter to get out of the house. She said she then heard her daughter call out "Ma" three times on the phone before the phone disconnected, according to police. Court records show Steele's mom said she called back twice and no one answered, so she called 911.