Texas man accused of murdering young mother because she wouldn't lend him cell phone
HOUSTON, Texas -- Family members are describing the killing of a single mother who was murdered just a few feet from her front door over a phone.
Dondrick Flagg, 28, is charged with capital murder after authorities say he killed 29-year-old Tiffany McKnight over the weekend.
In court Monday, Flagg had on the same red hoodie that he wore the morning of the alleged crime. He did not answer any of the judge's questions.
Police say Tiffany was returning from the grocery store when Flagg approached her at her apartment complex in the 2000 block of Reed Road and asked to use her cell phone.
Tiffany's sister, Victoria Burrell, told ABC13 she was talking with her over FaceTime and heard everything. She says she heard Tiffany scream and heard the gun shots that took her sister's life.
"She was screaming and I heard pop, pop, pop, and I didn't hear Tiffany scream anymore," Burrell recalled.
"She looked up and he said, 'Hey, can I use your cell phone?' She said, 'I'm on an important phone call right now but I can let you use my house phone.' Next thing you know he yanks her out of the car, I heard her scream and she was screaming and I was screaming, 'Tiffany, Tiffany, Tiffany, Tiffany.'"
After the gun shots, Burrell called her mother, who lived with Tiffany.
"I opened the door and she was lying right out there," said Maxine McKnight, Tiffany's mother. "And I got to praying for her."
Flagg allegedly shot Tiffany four times before running away. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses described Flagg, who was found by police several blocks away from the complex.
Authorities say he struggled with officers, punching one of them in the face, before running off again. According to officials, he threw a handgun in the bushes before being arrested.
Flagg was wearing two distinctive lanyards around his neck, which allegedly belonged to the victim.
Court records state one of them was a Houston Texans lanyard with car keys and a picture of the victim and a friend. The victim's sister also described the exact lanyard.
Flagg did not give any information to police after his arrest. He is currently being held without bond.
Maxine McKnight says her daughter Tiffany worked two jobs and was attending school to be a pharmacist. It was all to support her 9-year-old son. He was on the couch when the shots rang out.
The family can't understand why suspect Flagg pulled the trigger after Tiffany offered to help him.
Tiffany's last words still haunt her sister.
"Her last moments I heard her screaming, screaming for help. 'Help, Victoria, help!'" Burrell said, "I don't want to remember her like that."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help pay Tiffany's funeral expenses.
