Houston man convicted of 2017 triple murder

HOUSTON – A 41-year-old Houston man agreed to three 60-year prison sentences for a 2017 triple murder.

On Thursday, nearly seven years after the murders, Jeffrey Duane Noble pleaded guilty to killing 67-year-old John Sciandra, Sciandra's 22-year-old daughter Jessica Sciandra and her boyfriend, 21-year-old Jordan Collier.

The shooting occurred on December 8, 2017, but the story begins earlier.

In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area, including the Sciandra family home. The house where they lived near the Addicks Reservoir was severely flooded and the family was busy rebuilding – drywall and carpeting had been removed from the house.

According to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Noble knew the Sciandras personally and had been to their home several times.

The day before the murders, Noble had his 35th birthday and he planned to go out with a roommate who lived in the Sciandras' house along with another friend. The celebration ended early when Noble, who is schizophrenic, began talking about hearing voices.

The next day, Noble went to the house and showed his roommate a .50-caliber assault rifle that he had hidden under his coat.

He fired a shot through the wall, hitting Collier in the head and killing him.

Noble told the roommate to leave the house and she ran to a neighbor's house to call the police. That's when she heard gunshots.

Noble had shot John and Jessica Sciandra.

“He had a plan. He entered the house with a .50-caliber assault rifle and massacred people one by one, then tried to escape any responsibility,” said Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Marshall. “There are mental health issues in this case, but that doesn't give anyone permission to brutally murder three people.”

When police officers arrived at the scene, Noble had disappeared.

Days later, Noble was arrested at a gas station near Dallas. A customer called police after seeing Noble smoking methamphetamine. Noble gave police a false name, but his fingerprints showed he was wanted in Harris County.

“Three families are suffering unimaginably because of the suffering of a man with a gun who chose to shoot,” said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. “Our Homicide Unit prosecutors have made sure he is held accountable for his actions. Hopefully he will spend the rest of his life in prison.”

Noble's guilty plea was ultimately a trade for his 60-year sentence on each murder count. Had he been convicted of the capital crime, he would have faced life in prison without parole.

After the confession, five people connected to the victims gave victim impact statements. One of them said John Sciandra told them he didn't trust Noble.

Noble cannot appeal the three murder convictions or the sentences, which will run concurrently.