Teresa Marie Howe, 83, of Azle, Texas, was one of two people found shot to death inside a home in the 200 block of Stewart Bend Court on July 16, 2026. Officers and firefighters were dispatched about 9:30 a.m. for a reported suspicious situation; because of the circumstances of the call, officers entered the residence and discovered Howe and her daughter dead from apparent gunshot wounds. Later reporting identified the daughter as 59-year-old Traci Richelle Gordon.

Investigators focused quickly on Traci Gordon’s husband, Joseph Morris Gordon of Fort Worth. The Azle Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division worked with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers, and investigators cited evidence from the home plus information from FLOCK license-plate-reading cameras in identifying Gordon as the person responsible. Texas Rangers arrested Joseph Gordon on July 16; he was taken to the Parker County Jail and charged with two counts of capital murder. Authorities had not publicly disclosed a motive or a detailed reconstruction of events inside the home.

Howe had been born June 23, 1943, in Meridian, Texas, and raised three children with her late husband Richard Edwin Howe. Her obituary described her as a dependable and devoted mother; a memorial service was scheduled for August 8 at First Methodist Church of Azle and also remembered her daughter Traci. Does anyone have information about the family, the neighborhood, or events leading up to July 16 that could help investigators?