Christian Perry Menifee (Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office)
FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas - After five years, a Humble man has been sentenced to decades behind bars after a Fort Bend County jury found him guilty of murdering his family member in 2021.
Fort Bend County murder conviction
District Attorney Brian Middleton announced that 25-year-old Christian Perry Menifee was convicted of murder on Monday and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Under his 40-year sentence, Menifee must serve at least 20 years before he is eligible for parole.
What we know:
On May 15, 2021, Menifee and his 19-year-old cousin, Tyler Hicks, were with relatives and friends at a recording studio inside a Sugar Land boxing gym. According to evidence, Menifee shot Hicks 12 times in front of several witnesses, including a music producer who was in the room.
Surveillance video recovered by Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office investigators showed Menifee walking out of the studio with a gun in his hand as witnesses fled ahead of him. Menifee got rid of the gun and fled to his home in Humble, where he was arrested the next day. Authorities were able to find the gun a few days later.
A firearms expert testified the shell casings found at the scene matched Menifee's recovered gun. Witnesses testified everything was okay until Menifee pulled out the gun and started shooting Hicks.
The other side:
Menifee admitted to the murder but argued he shot Hicks in self-defense.
The Source: The information in this article was provided by a press release from the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office.