Texas

Texas Woman Sentenced to 50 Years for Killing Boyfriend’s 4-Year-Old Daughter

Published

2 years ago

April 8, 2024

Texas Woman Sentenced to 50 Years for Killing Boyfriend’s 4-Year-Old Daughter

Shawna Hooey, 33, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after being convicted of murdering her boyfriend’s 4-year-old daughter Jakyzia Alexander
Prosecutors said Hooey took Jakyzia took an emergency room on Sept. 7, 2019, but gave medical staff and authorities various accounts of what happened to the girl
An examination determined Jakyzia died of blunt force trauma and had other injuries in different stages of healing

A Texas woman will spend decades in prison for killing her boyfriend’s 4-year-old daughter in 2019, prosecutors announced.

After nine days of trial, a Harris County jury convicted 33-year-old Shawna Hooey of murder and sentenced her to 50 years in prison on April 3, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in an April 5 press release.

“We have to work together as a community to protect our children who are particularly vulnerable to abuse from violent adults,” Ogg said. “We are thankful to the jurors who recognized that this was not a single incident, but a pattern of abuse and rightfully sentenced this woman to spend decades behind bars.”

Hooey was taking care of 4-year-old Jakyzia Alexander along with her own five children when she took the girl to a 24-hour emergency room on Sept. 7, 2019, the same day she died, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, the girl’s father had sole custody and worked nights. He and Jakyzia moved in with Hooey and her four children in Tomball, Texas, after he started dating Hooey.

“Because of his work schedule, Jakyzia’s father stayed with family members who lived closer to his job and seldom saw his daughter,” the release states. “He did not see her for at least two months before her death, except through video calls.”

When Hooey took Jakyzia to the emergency room, the girl’s body was “already cold” and she had a visible black eye and other injuries, the release states.

Hooey told medical staff and authorities different stories about what happened to the girl, prosecutors said. She claimed Jakyzia had to be woken up and was taking deep, labored breaths and not acting normally, so Hooey drove her around in a hot car to try to get her to breathe normally. Hooey then drove home, changed clothes and then took Jakyzia to the emergency clinic.

Hooey’s various accounts of what happened to Jakyzia included that she ran into a doorknob and the girl threw herself against a toilet paper holder in the bathroom, prosecutors said. According to Hooey, the injury occurred two days before she took Jakyzia to the emergency room, and the girl had been acting normally since it happened.

During the trial, witnesses testified that Jakyzia acted normally the day before she was taken to the emergency room.

“Further examination showed that the girl had signs of repeated past abuse, including injuries that were fresh, some that were resolving and others that were healed,” the release states. “An autopsy showed that Jakyzia died from blunt force trauma to the head. The injury that killed her would have resulted in seizures, vomiting and dazed reactions almost immediately.”

Hooey was eventually charged with murder after an investigation by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

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Jakyzia’s family faced Hooey at her sentencing hearing and gave emotional statements.

“My niece was barely 30 pounds. So how she could cause deep bruising in her head and make her spine come unattached to her body, I’ll never know,” said April Alexander, an aunt of Jakyzia, according to ABC 13.

“It’s hard. For four years, it’s been just miserable,” Vonda Harris, the girl’s grandmother, added, per the outlet.

Assistant District Attorney Gilbert Sawtelle, who prosecuted the case, noted in the press release that child abusers often work to hide signs of abuse by keeping children away from other adults or dressing them to cover the injuries.

“Child abuse does happen, and when we see it, we need to call it out and notify the police and child protective services,” Sawtelle said. “This girl was wearing long sleeves in the summertime—and if someone had noticed her injuries and intervened, she would probably still be here today.”

Prosecutors said Hooey must serve at least half of her prison sentence before she is eligible for parole.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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Texas A&M vs. Louisville volleyball final score, stats highlights

Published

5 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Texas A&M vs. Louisville volleyball final score, stats highlights

After dropping the first two sets, No. 3 seed Texas A&M (25-4) stormed back to beat No. 2 seed Louisville (26-6) 3-2 in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament Friday night.

Texas A&M moves on to play Sunday against either No. 1 Nebraska or No. 4 Kansas, who play at 9:30 p.m. ET Friday night. Here’s how the Sweet 16 heavyweight match played out:

FINAL: Texas A&M wins 3-2, taking final set 15-12.

No. 3 Texas A&M completed a reverse sweep against No. 2 Louisville to advance to the regional final for the first time since 2001 after winning the fifth set, 15-12. The Aggies were able to swing the momentum of the game with their blocking ability, led by Ifenna Cos-okpalla’s 12 total blocks.

Texas A&M’s Logan Lednicky (20 kills, 10 digs on .245 hitting), Kyndal Stowers (16 kills, 11 digs on .282 hitting) and Emily Hellmuth (12 kills on .226 hitting) each recorded double-digit kills.

“We just weren’t finishing the last end of the set,” said an emotional Lednicky, who was three blocks away from a triple double. “We’re like, we’re not letting them sweep us. We know how to grind, we know how to dig it. We saw it in the TCU match and we did just that last one.”

Tensions boiled over in the fifth set. Louisville head coach Dan Meske earned a yellow card for swatting the ball because he thought the referee missed a carry call during a long rally Texas A&M won to go up 12-10.

Louisville’s Chloe Chicoine finished with a game-high 26 kills hitting .300 in the loss.

No. 3 Texas A&M took a 17-8 lead after holding No. 2 Louisville to a -.143 hitting percentage to start the fourth set with its defensive prowess. The Aggies stretched their lead to as many as nine points, but Louisville went on a 7-1 run to come within three points of Texas A&M. The Aggies didn’t relinquish the lead this time. Texas A&M finished the fourth set on a 4-0 run to force a decisive fifth set.

Texas A&M held Louisville to .000 hitting in the fourth set. The Aggies hit .267 and recorded nine blocks. Texas A&M’s Logan Lednicky (18 kills on .333 hitting), Kyndal Stowers (14 kills on .243 hitting) and Emily Hellmuth (10 kills on .200 hitting) each have double-digit kills. Ifenna Cos-okpalla is up to 11 blocks.

The Aggies are going for the reverse sweep, the team’s first since September 2024.

No. 3 Texas A&M head coach Jamie Morrison said his team needed to do a better job at finishing at the end of the set if they wanted to extend their season against No. 2 Louisville after giving up leads in the first two sets. The Aggies did just that in a third set that featured 15 ties and five lead changes.

The Aggies had a 23-21 lead in the third set before Louisville tied it up at 23-23 following back-to-back kills from Chloe Chicoine. Texas A&M’s Kyndal Stowers responded with a pair of kills herself to give the Aggies the set, 25-23.

Texas A&M’s Logan Lednicky (14 kills on .333 hitting), Stowers (11 kills on .259 hitting) and Emily Hellmuth (10 kills on .261) each have double-digit kills as the team is collectively hitting .292.

Meanwhile, Chicoine is up to 19 kills on .405 hitting. Cara Cresse added seven blocks.

New set, same scenario. Much like the first set, Texas A&M was the first team to reach 15 points. The Aggies had a 21-16 lead in the second set, before Louisville staged another comeback. The Cardinals went on a 9-1 run to take the lead and clinch the second set, 25-22, to take a 2-0 lead over Texas A&M.

Louisville capitalized on 14 total blocks and three aces. Chloe Chicoine (11 kills on .400 hitting) and Payton Petersen (10 kills on .563 hitting) led the Cardinals in kills.

Logan Lednicky has nine kills, while Emily Hellmuth and Kyndal Stowers each have seven kills for Texas A&M.

No. 3 Texas A&M had control of the first set and was the first team to 15 points, but No. 2 Louisville went on a 5-0 run to tie it up at 17-17. Five more ties ensued before Louisville ultimately created some separation to take the first set, 25-23. Louisville hit .457 and had two players with six or more kills — Payton Petersen (seven kills on .778 hitting) and Chloe Chicoine (six kills on .600 hitting).

NCAA volleyball tournament regionals schedule

All times Eastern

Friday, Dec. 12

Saturday, Dec. 13

Sunday, Dec. 14

TBA | No. 1 Texas vs. No. 3 Wisconsin
Regional final, TBD

NCAA women’s volleyball bracket

Find the full NCAA women’s volleyball tournament bracket on the NCAA website.

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UConn vs. Texas Prediction, How to Watch, Odds, Channel

Published

17 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

UConn vs. Texas Prediction, How to Watch, Odds, Channel

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

The No. 5 UConn Huskies (9-1) will attempt to continue a five-game winning streak when they host the Texas Longhorns (7-3) on Friday, December 12, 2025 at PeoplesBank Arena. The contest airs at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

Keep reading to get all you need to know ahead of wagering on the UConn-Texas matchup.

UConn vs. Texas How to Watch & Odds

When: Friday, December 12, 2025 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut
TV: FOX
Streaming: FOXSports.com, FOX Sports App and FOX One (Try free for 7 days)

UConn vs. Texas Prediction

The Huskies are holding opponents to just 60.4 points per game while averaging 91, giving them one of the strongest scoring margins in the country. Their defense has been particularly sharp, limiting opponents to 37.4% shooting from the field.

Solo Ball and Tarris Reed Jr. continue to set the tone. Ball is averaging 15 points per game, and Reed Jr. has provided steady interior production with 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds. Their consistency has been central to the Huskies’ early-season dominance.

The Longhorns have shown they can score, averaging 85.8 points per game, but their defense has struggled, allowing opponents to shoot 48.5%. That could be an issue against a UConn offense that moves the ball well and attacks efficiently.

UConn’s home court-advantage and Texas’s 2-2 road struggles tilt the matchup toward the Huskies.

Pick ATS: Texas (+16.5)
Pick OU: Over (145.5)
Prediction: UConn 81, Texas 69

Prediction provided by FOX Sports’ Sports AI. Download the FOX Sports App for free access to Sports AI.

UConn vs. Texas Betting Insights

Betting Line Implied Predictions

Based on the spread and over/under, the implied score for the matchup is Huskies 81, Longhorns 64.
The Huskies have a 95.9% chance to win this meeting per the moneyline’s implied probability.
The Longhorns have an 8.3% implied probability to win.

Key Spread Facts

UConn has compiled a 3-7-0 record against the spread this season.
Texas has won six games against the spread this year, while failing to cover four times.
UConn has covered the spread once this season (1-4 ATS) when playing as at least 16.5-point favorites.

Key Total Facts

The Huskies and their opponent have broken the 145.5-point mark four times this year.
Longhorns games have gone over 145.5 points on eight occasions this season.
The total for this matchup is 145.5 points, 23.4 fewer than the combined scoring average of the two teams.

Key Moneyline Facts

UConn has won six of seven games when the moneyline favorite this season (85.7%).
Texas has split the two games it has played as underdogs this season.
UConn has played as a moneyline favorite of -2326 or shorter twice this season, and won both.
Texas has not entered a game this season with longer moneyline odds than +1103.

UConn vs. Texas: Recent Results

Huskies vs Longhorns Recent Games
Date	Favorite	Spread	Total	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline	Result
12/8/2024	Longhorns	-1.5	141	-121	+101	76-65 UCONN

UConn vs. Texas: 2025-26 Stats Comparison

	UConn	Texas
Points Scored Per Game (Rank)	79.8 (137)	89.1 (21)
Points Allowed (Rank)	61.7 (10)	73.2 (189)
Rebounds (Rank)	9 (234)	11.7 (49)
3pt Made (Rank)	7.7 (203)	8 (175)
Assists (Rank)	17.9 (38)	14.6 (179)
Turnovers (Rank)	8.8 (10)	11.5 (167)

UConn 2025-26 Key Players

Huskies Leaders
Name	GP	PTS	REB	ASST	STL	BLK	3PM
Solomon Ball	10	15	3.3	1.6	0.8	0.3	2
Tarris Reed Jr.	5	14.8	7.6	1.4	1.2	1.6	0
Alex Karaban	10	13.4	5.4	2.2	0.9	1.2	2
Silas Demary Jr.	10	10	4.5	5.1	1.8	0.2	0.3
Eric Reibe	10	9.6	4.6	0.3	0.3	1.3	0.3

Texas 2025-26 Key Players

Longhorns Leaders
Name	GP	PTS	REB	ASST	STL	BLK	3PM
Matas Vokietaitis	10	15.9	6.6	0.2	0.4	1.1	0
Dailyn Swain	10	15.7	6.9	3.5	1.6	0.3	0.7
Jordan Pope	10	12.5	2.1	3	0.3	0.1	2.4
Tramon Mark	10	9.9	2.8	2.5	0.7	0.6	1
Simeon Wilcher	10	9.4	2.4	1.9	0.7	0.5	1.6

FOX Sports used technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar to create this story.

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Texas

Texas Football Opt-Outs: Who’s Likely Playing and Who’s Out for the Citrus Bowl

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Texas Football Opt-Outs: Who’s Likely Playing and Who’s Out for the Citrus Bowl

At this point in time, opting out of bowl games is nothing new, but Texas is going to have more opt-outs in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan than many—self included—expected. This problem pales in comparison to what’s going on in Ann Arbor, but the amount of lost experience will be something for Texas to overcome, primarily on defense.

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