Texas Man had “father-son” talk before stabbing son to death
A Deer Park, Texas man was arrested and charged this weekend after he shot his son, then proceeded to have a “father-son” chat before fatally stabbing him, according to police.
At around 11 a.m. on Sunday, Deer Park police responded to a domestic disturbance call near Meadowlark Street. Upon arrival, authorities found a male — identified as 27-year-old Sherman Palmer Fricks Jr. — with several injuries. Police immediately performed CPR on the victim before transporting him to Bayshore Hospital. Fricks Jr. was later pronounced dead at the medical facility.
Sherman Shirley Fricks Sr. — Fricks Jr.’s 68-year-old father — allegedly shot his son repeatedly, before he proceeded to have a “father-son” chat with him for roughly 20 minutes, according to ABC-13. Following their conversation, Fricks Sr. fatally stabbed his son multiple times “without provocation” in the chest area, police said.
Authorities arrested Fricks Sr. and charged him with first-degree felony murder in the death of his son. During Fricks Sr.’s probable cause hearing on Monday, prosecutors asserted that the alleged murder occurred because he was worn down by his son’s attitude. Fricks Sr. “stated that he had called law enforcement on [his son] in the past, but they were never able to fix it,” a prosecutor said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “So today, he decided to fix it.”
Fricks Sr. visited a local electronics store with Fricks Jr. on Saturday after his son’s phone broke. Prosecutors said Fricks Jr., who was sitting in the car’s back seat behind his father’s girlfriend, started kicking the seat in front of him on the ride to the store.
The next day, Fricks Sr. reportedly waited for his son around lunchtime at home with a .380 pistol while he was out picking up fast food.
When Fricks Jr. returned, his father asked what he had ordered. He responded with a “smart” comment, according to prosecutors. Fricks Sr. “stated that he was prepared to shoot [his son] in the back, and that was his plan,” prosecutors added. “He stated [his son] made the smart remark and turned to him. [Fricks Sr.] just started shooting him until nothing else came out of the handgun.”
After realizing his son was still alive, Fricks Sr. allegedly proceeded to engage him in a “father-son” conversation which lasted approximately 20 minutes. The conversation ended when Fricks Jr. reached for his father’s arm, prompting Fricks Sr. to stab him multiple times with a kitchen knife.
If convicted, Fricks Sr. faces a possible life sentence. His bail has been set at $60,000.
Deer Park, a Texas city located within the Houston metropolitan area, has a crime rate — 16 per one thousand residents — near the average for all cities and towns in America, according to Neighborhood Scout. Approximately 47 percent of Texas communities have a higher crime rate than Deer Park, whose roughly 34,000 residents have a 1 in 63 chance of becoming a victim of crime in the area
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