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Houston cop charged with murdering his wife has been relieved of duty

The couple's daughter told investigators Hilario Hernandez killed Belinda Hernandez because he thought she was flirting with a family friend.

PEARLAND, Texas — The Houston police officer accused of murdering his wife over the weekend has been relieved of duty.

Hilario Hernandez, an HPD sergeant,  is charged with murder in connection with the death of his wife, Belinda, a beloved librarian at Shadycrest Elementary School.

The couple's daughter told investigators she was worried about her mother after her father got mad because he thought his wife was flirting with a family friend.

According to the court documents, Hernandez’s daughter found her mother dead in their kitchen on Saturday. The daughter is the one who called 911. Her father had already fled south toward Mexico.

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The daughter told officers that her mother, father, her husband and his close friend had a party at her parents' Pearland home, where they were drinking. She added that her father, Hilario Hernandez, got upset because he believed his wife was flirting with his daughter’s husband’s friend.

Court documents state the daughter told police they all left her parents’ house, and she later texted her mother to make sure she was okay. When her mother didn't respond, the daughter said she called and her father, who answered saying, "She's fine" and hung up.

Worried, the daughter told police she went to check on her mother the next day, and that's when she found her dead in the kitchen. 

Court documents say officers found a handgun, an empty magazine and several shell casings at the scene.

Officers pinged Hilario Hernandez's phone, and located him driving towards Corpus Christi. They found him at a hotel in Kingsville and arrested him.

The affidavit also shows while law enforcement agencies were searching for Hernandez, a Houston police lieutenant sent out a group text pertaining to Hernandez, to which he replied back asking, "What's going on?"

He also told the lieutenant he would "kill himself" or "turn himself in.”

HPD records show eight sustained disciplinary actions against him for what appears to be five unique incidents with the most recent being in 2004.

Hernandez is being held on a $800,000 bond in the Brazoria County Jail. That bond was set by the magistrate in Kingsville and the Brazoria County magistrate elected to keep it at that amount.

Friends have set up a gofundme.com page to help the family with funeral expenses.

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