HOUSTON – The mother of a man charged in the slaying of a Houston-area police officer and a man identified by authorities as her boyfriend were arrested Thursday for helping the suspect stay under the radar amid a massive manhunt, police said.
Tiffany Henderson and Geoffrey Wheeler are in custody charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon, a third-degree felony.
A vehicle belonging to Wheeler was at the scene of Thursday's arrest of murder suspect Tavores Henderson.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Wheeler and Tiffany Henderson shuttled Tavores Henderson to a motel shortly after the death of police Sgt. Kaila Sullivan.
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Investigators said a motel on the south side of Houston is one of the last-known places the suspect was recorded while on the run following the slaying of Nassau Bay police officer Kaila Sullivan on Tuesday night. Police claim Tavores Henderson had plenty of help.
"Other suspects in the case have been charged (as) after-the-fact suspects," said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. "His mother and his mother's boyfriend."
Investigators said Tavores Henderson's mother and her 31-year-old boyfriend were part of a group that brought Tavores Henderson to the Sterling Inn motel in the 2500 block of the South Loop West near NRG around 12:15 a.m. -- just a few hours after Sullivan was killed.
Hotel management tells KPRC-TV Channel 2 that surveillance cameras show Tavores Henderson and three others arrive just after midnight. They were in a red Scion similar to one that is Wheeler owns. Managers said the four checked into room 208 -- but Tavores Henderson only stayed there until 3:30 a.m. They said he didn't sleep in either of the beds or use the towels. At 3:30 a.m., someone in a white Cadillac picked up Tavores Henderson and he never returned to the hotel.
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KPRC investigative reporter Joel Eisenbaum broke the news of the arrests to Geoffrey Wheeler’s parents at their Missouri City home. Posts on social media paint the picture of Wheeler and Henderson’s mother as a couple madly in love. Wheeler’s father said if his son indeed was involved -- love perhaps drove him in the wrong direction.
“Helping is one thing,” the father said. “This. I’m a pretty realistic man. This oversteps helping.”
This story was originally published by our sister station, Click2Houston.com.