A Texas man has been detained following the fatal shooting of his biological daughter’s adoptive parents, according to law enforcement in the Lone Star State.

Norman Lee Johnson, aged 42, faces two capital murder charges related to the deaths of Christopher Lopez and Trinette Rayson-Lopez, both 52, as reported by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

The tragic incident unfolded earlier this month at a home on Bent Springs Lane in Katy, a small town situated about 30 miles west of Houston, within Harris County.

On January 12, shortly after 6 a.m., one of the couple’s adult children made a distress call to 911, stating that both parents had been shot and were beyond help, according to a report from Houston’s Fox affiliate KRIV. Authorities suspect the shooting began around 5:43 a.m. and noted there were no signs of forced entry at the suburban residence.

Upon entering the home, deputies encountered a harrowing scene. Christopher Lopez was discovered with a single gunshot wound to the face, while Trinette Rayson-Lopez had been shot twice in the head and once in her left hand.

The man was found near the main living room and the woman was found near the kitchen, authorities said. Also inside were two adults in their 20s and a 7-year-old girl, who were asleep when the violence began. All three were unharmed and were the children of the victims.

On the day in question, the couple’s adult children were upstairs when they heard a commotion downstairs and later went downstairs to discover the worst, according to Houston-area CBS affiliate KHOU.

On Tuesday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced in a social media post that Johnson had been arrested and charged in the case, saying his “motive likely stemmed from custodial issues.”

The defendant turned up in Round Rock, a large suburb of Austin some 175 miles northwest of Houston. He was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Task Force and booked into the Williamson County Jail. He will eventually be extradited back to Harris County.

“We hope that he is charged to the fullest extent of the law,” the adult children told KHOU after the arrest was announced. “Our parents deserve justice and to know that we are safe from his harm.”

In October 2024, Johnson was charged with one count of misdemeanor harassment after allegedly threatening to kill Christopher Lopez over the child custody issue, Harris County court records show.

That alleged threat was made to Christopher Lopez and another family member after Johnson was told “he needed to speak with Child Protective Services in order to change any custody orders, which resulted in the defendant becoming irate,” according to a criminal complaint in that earlier case obtained by Law&Crime.

In that earlier case, the other family member allegedly being threatened by the defendant is identified as Norman Lee Johnson Sr., and is referred to as the guardian of the defendant’s daughter. And, at the time, that charging document says Christopher Lopez has known the defendant “for approximately 20 years” and described him as a “family member due to the defendant being the son of Johnson, Sr., and Johnson Sr. is a family member of Lopez’s spouse.”

“There are previous calls for service here…so we’re gonna be investigating that as well,” Gonzalez, the sheriff, previously said in an initial press conference about the murders.

In an interview with KHOU, the couple’s adult children described the 7-year-old girl as an adopted cousin — not a foster child. The siblings added their parents were high school sweethearts, disputing an earlier law enforcement claim that “an ex” might have been involved.

“I know there were multiple shots, but I heard one,” the adult daughter said. “So, it might have been the last one, but I heard one big shot.”