Reward increased to find road rage shooter of young girl

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo says the person who killed eight-year-old De'Maree Adkins doesn't have a soul. He strongly encouraged that person to surrender.

There's now a Teddy bear and balloons at the intersection where De'Maree died in front of her mother. As the girl's family prepares for her funeral, the person who shot and killed her has not been found.

"No mother should bury her daughter because of some idiot that had no regard for who was in that car, had no regard for who was going to be at the other end of that bullet."

De'Maree Adkins was the love of her mother's life. The young girl loved school and had quite a sense of humor. She can be heard on her iPad discussing why bananas go bad.

"Let's start with bananas, how come when you peel them, there's brown stuff inside?," asks Adkins in the video.

Adkins' family can be reunited with her smile and her voice when they view the iPad video. The girl's life was cut short at around 2 a.m. on Saturday when a woman pointed a loaded gun out of a car window and began shooting.

Adkins' mom, Latoya Jarmon, says she didn't know her daughter had been shot right away.

"When I pulled up the shirt, that's when I saw the bullet hole and I kept trying to touch her, rubbing her face rubbing her hands and I said, 'Baby, please stay with mommy,' she couldn't say nothing," says Jarmon.

During Chief Acevedo's March On Crime news conference on Monday, he delivered a strong message to her killer.

"It means that person has no soul," said Acevedo. "I mean, you have no soul. It means you have no soul when you're willing to shoot out of the window indiscriminately." 

Adkins' grandfather says it really hasn't sunk in, that his baby is gone.

"She was damaged so much inside, I guess he decided to take her instead of leaving her here all damaged up."

"I'm hopeful that the people that love the people who've committed these crimes, that they call the police department and do the right thing and they turn them in," said Acevedo during the news conference.

Crime Stoppers of Houston is offering a maximum $15,000 reward for information that will lead to the arrest of the person who shot and killed Adkins.

The Office of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division offered the additional reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the person or persons involved in the shooting Adkins. The amount offered by the Governor’s office, combined with the Crime Stoppers of Houston reward of $5,000, bring the total maximum amount to $15,000.

“Cecilia and I send our deepest sympathies to De'Maree’s family during this unimaginably difficult time,” said Governor Abbott in a statement released on Monday. “There is no place for heinous acts like this in Texas. We urge anyone who has any information to contact Houston Crime Stoppers immediately to bring those involved to justice."

Anyone with information about the shooting can remain anonymous and are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston by phone at 713-222-8477 (TIPS).