A missing Houston woman was strangled and dismembered by a man who burned his apartment down while trying to kill himself.
Henry David Cossette, 28, was charged Monday with murder, arson and tampering with evidence in the death of Sara Goodwin, 19, who was reported missing on Feb. 6, according to court documents.
Cossette strangled the young woman before mutilating her corpse and hiding her remains. He then set fire to his apartment on Saturday.
Houston police reported that Cossette confessed to killing Goodwin and led detectives to her body. The remains were sent to the medical examiner to positively identify the body as Goodwin.
Friends and relatives of Goodwin had asked for the community’s help in tracking her down. A friend told the station she worked as a sex worker, but was a loving and doting sister to her younger brother.
“She has a 15-year-old brother she will die for … that she basically raises,” friend Jessica Finn said.
Quanell X, a local activist, said he believed Goodwin was taken against her will by a man with a gun who had been spotted by sex workers in the area driving a four-door gray Honda.
“That same vehicle was seen cruising around after Sara’s abduction,” said Quanell X.
The man was also spotted in southwest Houston allegedly attempting to lure two other women into his vehicle, Quanell X said.
Meanwhile, police reported to news media, that surveillance video showed Goodwin ‘willingly’ getting into the vehicle seen on the footage.
Goodwin’s phone was found by her friends at an apartment complex in Houston, where they searched for clues on Thursday and handed out missing person flyers.
“I know that she is scared and worried and I want her to know that people care about her,” Finn said Thursday.
Cossette, who was booked into Harris County Jail on Monday, is being held without bond ahead of a court date set for Wednesday, online records show. It’s unclear if he’s hired an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
all one hast to do is look at the mentality, I think I say him on TV while he was attend a blm function.
so was it a house, or an apartment?????? get your facts before reporting anything.