Man wanted for murder after deadly apartment dispute

HOUSTON – Damian Staggers is charged with murder. Instead of sitting in prison, he is on the run.

“I can't believe this happened and this guy is walking around,” said Michelle Scott-Grays, Carl Scott's mother.

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Earlier this month, Michelle buried her middle child, 31-year-old Carl.

“I felt like someone had ripped my heart out, and I still feel that now,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m breathing.”

“What he wanted most was to be with his family,” said Carl’s stepmother, Lashawn Scott-Grays.

Carl has had a few run-ins with the law, but has spent the last five years turning his life around.

“One thing I told him before he died: I will never bring up the past again because the man you are today has made me a proud mother,” Michelle said.

On September 6, sheriff's deputies said Staggers shot Carl at apartment 909 at 331 Parramatta Lane.

“It all started with a dispute over rent,” Lashawn said. “His girlfriend was arguing with her best friend of seven years about rent due.”

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Instead of paying the rent, Staggers allegedly sent threatening texts to Carl's girlfriend.

“He said he was going to kill her,” Michelle said. “He wanted their family members beaten.”

“Carl being Carl, he will protect you if he takes you in as family,” Lashawn said. “Information we received from neighbors

“Damian Staggers walked around the apartment complex talking about murder that was on his mind.”

Officials say Staggers ran away after killing Carl and is now wanted for murder.

“Now we have to mourn and wish to hear his voice again, which will never happen because of the rent,” Lashawn said.

Carl's mother has this message for her son's accused murderer.

“I hate you for destroying my family,” Michelle said. “I hate that you couldn’t be a man and say it.”

If you know the whereabouts of Damian Staggers, call the Harris County Sheriff's Office or Crime Stoppers.