A 62-year-old Humble man was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for murdering his girlfriend’s adolescent daughter during an attempted sexual assault.
In 2022, Van Henry Brisbon was found guilty of capital murder in the death of 16-year-old Lauren Juma.
On April 29, 2022, Juma, a Nimitz High School student, FaceTimed her mom, who was out of town for work, and informed her that Brisbon was acting “weird.”
Juma’s mother summoned her older sister, who arrived at the house to see Brisbon holding Juma against her will with a revolver.
When Harris County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, they heard gunshots from within the home.
They detained Brisbon, and found Juma shot to death inside the house.
Investigators eventually discovered evidence that Brisbon had attempted to sexually abuse the teen.
Following a trial last week, a Harris County jury convicted Brisbon and sentenced him to life in prison.
“This defendant was a predator with a gun, and his decision to injure and kill a young girl was senseless and horrific,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. “He not only took a promising young woman’s life; his actions have destroyed a family.”
Brisbon will be ineligible for parole.