Murdered Mom Sapphira Brown Was No Stranger to Abuse

Tuesday, 15 Nov 2011

HOUSTON - A Houston-area mother murdered in front of her children over the weekend was no stranger to abuse.

In fact, police were called several times in the past after Sapphira Brown was allegedly beaten by her husband Sherman Jones.

This time, investigators say the attack by her husband ended in murder.

According to relatives this was the first time in two months Brown had gone back to her house alone. It's a home Brown bought because her husband didn't work.

They say she was abused for years, was afraid of her husband, and finally left him in late August 2011.

She rented an apartment in Houston. However, Jones allegedly wouldn't let Brown take the kids.

They say Jones used the children as bait to lure his wife to their Needville home on Saturday. That's where she was stabbed to death in front of the couple's four boys ages 6, 7, 8 and 11.

The 11-year-old ran to a relative's house for help. By the time loved ones and police arrived, the 30-year-old mother of four was dead on the front lawn.

Police say Brown's 50-year-old husband Sherman Jones stabbed her to death with a kitchen knife.

"There were children at that home which is one of the most tragic parts of this,” said Chief Craig Brady with the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office. “This was a very brutal attack. I can't imagine what those kids are going through watching their mother murdered by their father.”

"She had a good job,” said Isaac Brown, Sapphira’s brother.
”She loved the kids. She even loved the husband that took her out of here."

Jones is unemployed and has a lengthy criminal record.

"Mr. Jones has been handled several times by numerous agencies including at least two other issues of domestic violence," Brady said.
Jones is also a registered sex offender after being convicted of raping a woman in the 1990s.

"I know he's abusive,” Isaac said. “He's really abusive.”

A few months ago, Isaac says his sister was beaten until her teeth were knocked out.

"She loved him so much, after all he did, even knocking her teeth and stuff out,” he said. “She went right back to him.”

"What we do know is an abuser is most dangerous when that victim is trying to leave," said Rebecca White with the Houston Area Women's Center.

The Women's Center Hotline receives more than 40,000 calls for help every year.

"If you feel you're in danger call the hotline,” White said. “If you're in eminent danger call police. They are there to help. You're not alone. It's not your fault. Staying in an abusive relationship is not good for your kids. Children learn what they see and that's not a lesson we want our children to learn.”

Some are questioning why Brown didn't seek a restraining order.

"Protective and restraining orders are nothing more than a piece of paper,” Brady said. “If someone's determined to commit an offense, they don't care about that piece of paper. It's not even as significant as the law itself. It's against the law to murder somebody. That didn't stop him."

Brady says he's encouraging victims to also take other protective measures in addition to retraining orders. Many resources are available.

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