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On January 24, 2017, first responders rushed to the scene of a shooting in Spring, Texas, located in the Houston area.
They found 53-year-old Ana Weed lying in the grass and being tended to by her husband, Scott Weed.
Hector Campos, the neighbor who had shot Ana, was standing next door in his driveway.
“Law enforcement cleared everybody back so paramedics could do their job,” journalist Tracy Clemons told Kill or Be Killed, airing Saturdays at 9/8c p.m. on reported.
That cast the shooting in a new light. “There was more to this case than just a neighbor-on-neighbor shooting,” said Phanco. “Retaliation is the exact opposite of self-defense.”
Investigators learned that Campos’ wife was back in Texas with her daughter, and living in a women’s shelter. Investigators had a conversation with her that yielded little information, according to Kill or Be Killed.
“It was 100% a case of ‘he said, she said,’” Clemons said. “And the ‘she’ in this case was dead.”
Dr. Phil gets involved in the case
About a month after the shooting, the case took an unexpected and high-profile turn. Campos appeared on the talk show, Dr. Phil and said that he fired his gun in self-defense. Ana’s family was also interviewed by host Phil McGraw. They said Campos pulled the trigger in revenge.
The TV appearance underscored that the case could be up for interpretation, according to Phanco.
Bill Ogden, the attorney for Ana’s family, told Kill or Be Killed that Campos eventually secured high-profile trial defense lawyer Chip Lewis, who’s known for having represented Robert Durst.
Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas in August of 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the criminal proceedings until June 2022.
Hector Campos goes on trial
At the trial, prosecutors sought to show the jury that Campos knew what he was doing when he shot Ana. The defense team had to convince the jury that he believed he was in imminent danger, according to Clemons.
The defense asserted that Ana had come at Campos with “a shiny object,” according to Kill or Be Killed.
Ana’s family testified about the complicated relationship between the next-door neighbors. Campos’ brother was a character witness for the defendant.
Hector Campos testified on his own behalf. He told the court that the Weeds “were drunk and that they would say curse words to him,” said juror Juanita Salinas. “It did plant a few seeds of doubt in my head.”
In the end, Campos, then 48, was found guilty of murder. He was sentenced to 45 years behind bars.
Ana’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Campos and were awarded a $70 million judgment.
To learn more about the case — including the fate of Scott Weed following his wife’s murder, featured in the “Kill Thy Neighbor” episode — watch Kill or Be Killed on Saturdays at 9/8c p.m. on Oxygen.
