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Monday, Feb. 9, 1998
Man accused in River Oaks death kills self in jail
Sheriff's office says Angleton, charged with killing sister-in-law, wasn't seen as a suicide risk
Associated Press
HOUSTON - The man accused of killing his brother's wife in a murder-for-hire plot was found dead in a Harris County Jail cell in what investigators say appears to be a weekend suicide.
Roger Nicholas Angleton, 55, was found by deputies at about 6:15 a.m. Saturday during a routine security check, said Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas.
Angleton apparently bled to death after inflicting wounds to his arms and neck with disposable razor blades.
Angleton had been charged with capital murder in the slaying of his sister-in-law. Doris McGown Angleton, 46, was fatally shot April 16 in her home in River Oaks, where Houston's well-heeled reside.
Her husband, Robert Angleton, 48, was charged with capital murder and is accused of hiring his brother to kill his wife.
Roger Angleton was being held alone in a single cell. The brothers, awaiting separate trials, were being kept on different floors of the jail.
Roger Angleton had been in the jail since Nov. 19 and had been checked at least once an hour. Jail records show he was fed breakfast at 4:05 a.m. and was seen by deputies at 4:29 a.m. and 5:19 a.m.
``He appeared to be OK. He had made no suicide threats. His behavior indicated he was not a suicide risk and our jail staff tells us that he had been upbeat in the days preceding this incident,'' Thomas said.
Three identical notes were discovered in the cell that the prisoner had addressed to the Sheriff's Department, his attorney and his brother, Thomas said.
``Had he been a suicide risk, it would have been a different situation. We would certainly have monitored him more closely and been in a different housing situation,'' Thomas said.
Doris Angleton, her husband Robert, and their two daughters, had gone to a softball game the night of April 16. Doris Angleton drove back to their River Oaks home to retrieve a softball bat. While inside her house, she was shot several times with a .22-caliber pistol.
When Robert Angleton and the girls returned home, he noticed a back door open and called police, who arrived to find her body.
Houston police officials later said Angleton was a well-known Houston bookmaker and had acted as an informant for the HPD vice division for a number of years.
Robert Angleton also told detectives that he thought his brother might be involved in the slaying.
In June, Roger Angleton was arrested in Las Vegas on a charge unrelated to the slaying. A briefcase he had at the time of his arrest contained a typewritten note. On it was the phrase, ``$100,000 a year until 2005,'' and ``my contract with you is to kill and no squealing.''
Another note stated, ``wait in the kitchen, subject comes home, hit immediately, if with either girl leave via the back entrance.''
There was also $64,282 in cash and money wrappers. Robert Angleton's fingerprint was discovered on one of the wrappers. Officers also discovered a cassette tape containing a conversation between two men planning a murder. Police say the men on the tape are Roger and Robert Angleton.Front Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web