Sweeny police chief speaks after two murders in same apartment

SWEENY, Texas - In Sweeny, back in November 2024, Michaela Tyler was shot and killed at the Windmill Run Apartments. Her then-husband, Michael Logan Tyler, has been charged with murder, but it took nearly nine months.

However, nearly five months after Michaela Tyler was shot and killed, Robert Lee Phillips III was killed at the same apartment complex and there are still no charges in his case, but the chief of the Sweeny Police Department says they are close to handing down charges.

Michalea Tyler's death 

The backstory:

Chief Brad Caudle says the day Michaela was shot, the call came in as a suicide call, but upon the arrival of his officers and later his investigators, he says he and his team had other thoughts. The Chief said there were inconsistencies from what they saw at the scene of the crime to stories during interviews and questioning with Michael Tyler, which ultimately led to him being released the evening after the crime was committed. 

The chief said other agencies, such as the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office and Texas Rangers, were involved in helping investigate, and inconsistencies continued to be found in Tyler's stories.

Chief Caidle adds that for months he and the other agencies involved in the investigation worked tirelessly to obtain enough evidence to charge Tyler.

"We felt like at the time as evidence would come back, the forensic evidence, that it was building a stronger case," said Chief Caudle. 

About five days after Michaela Tyler was found dead, Michael left town with his sister, and he was caught in the San Antonio area back in April by someone who recognized him, officials say.

Caudle says that the initial charge his office brought down on Tyler was animal cruelty charges, after his team found multiple dogs caged in Michael and Michaela Tyler's apartment the day she was found dead. However, the charges continued to build after he was caught in Boerne, Texas, which is in Kendall County and their sheriff's department also charged Tyler.

Tyler has been in the Brazoria County Jail since April 25, but the murder charges were handed down last week by a grand jury who indicted him. His bond is set at $2 million, according to online jail records.

Sweeny police department's slow case momentum

What they're saying:

"Part of our timeline that has taken this long is, of course, as we have mentioned, that we are a small department, so we do rely on other agencies' assistance to help out. We are also not the only agency in Brazoria County they help out," said Chief Caudle. "A lot of it is checks and balances, and then we can follow up on what we are doing."

Caudle also told FOX 26 that his office and other agencies wanted to make sure they had a strong case, while trying to protect the integrity of the investigation.

"The case that was presented was enough for them to come back and say we feel like there should be an indictment for murder. By the time it was all put together, and it does take time, it had went from suicide to involuntary manslaughter, to voluntary manslaughter to, when everything fell into place, ultimately, a murder," Caudle said. 

Chief Caudle said he understood the lack of communication with the Tyler family was frustrating, and he learned from the way this case was handled how he and his team should handle further cases moving forward.

SUGGESTED: Michaela Tyler's family and friends mourn tragic loss of 28-year-old in Sweeny

"Where I feel like we are capable of handling most anything in Sweeny, I'm also man enough to say, but if we can't, I will never hesitate to reach out for help," said the chief. "You can't put a dollar sign on the value of a life or the quality if an investigation but if you don't have that value here but be smart enough to reach out to who does and that's what we did."

Death of Robert Lee Phillips III update

Sixteen-year-old Robert Lee Phillips was killed at the Windmill Run Apartment and there is still no arrest. 

The Sweeny police chief says the investigation takes time, but he tells FOX 26 he feels they are close to handing over a good case to the district attorney.

What we know:

Chief Caudle says that there were narcotics involved in the death of Robert Lee Phillips.

"We do have ideas it was a situation gone bad," said Chief Caudle. "We didn’t have physical evidence at the scene per se, we didn’t have video cameras. We have a community that lives over there that, not only did nobody see anything but nobody was talking. We have the few people that were talking, and we later found out were completely lying."

Caudle said there have been inconsistencies in interviews in Phillip's case that have led to his office putting out warrants. He adds that it is frustrating, but his office feels they are close to nailing the suspects.

"When this second death happened over there, people immediately said we don’t want to live there anymore. People started moving out. Some of these people were potential witnesses that we have talked to before, and now we are going back, and they are no longer there, and we might have not had good contact information that really did a lot of damage to that investigation," Caudle said. "I feel like based on our meeting today and my discussion with the sheriff’s department investigators that are helping us and also the Texas Rangers there is going to be accountability in this case.:

Chief Caudle says that after lessons learned in the Michael Tyler case, he is working to make sure that charges in this case don't take nine months. 

"That standoffishness or lack of communication, I should say, was a result of making sure I didn’t do something wrong or give false hope or compromise and investigation," said Caudle. "It's got to start at the top, I've got to make sure I'm out there, and I am more accessible." 

The chief says he hopes the Sweeny community will regain trust in him and his department.

"I hate some things have taken as long as they have, but I can promise you and promise the family it’s not wasted time. "It's time that's needed to make sure that when accountability is put out there, it's not something these people are going to get out of," said Caudle. "Gaining the respect back gaining the confidence back we have very good relationships in this community. I want to make sure they stay solid."