A missing woman in Houston was strangled and dismembered by a man attacker, who also burned down his house while trying to take his own life.
28-year-old, Henry David Cossette, was charged with murder and arson in the death of 19-year-old Sara Goodwin. Cossette is believed to have strangled Goodwin before mutilating and hiding the body in an attempt at covering up what he had done. He then set his apartment on fire on Saturday.
Houston police said that Cossette led them to the body after admitting to killing a woman. The remains sent to the medical examiner for identification are believed to be those of Goodwin. When Goodwin went missing, friends and family of her reached out to the community for help. When asked about her job, a friend told the station she worked as an sex worker but was actually very loving and doting of her younger brother. “She has a 15-year-old brother she will die for … that she basically raises,” friend Jessica Finn said.
Quanell X, an activist, and a local resident said that he believes Goodwin was taken against her will by a man with a gun who had been seen by other sex workers in the area driving a four-door gray Honda vehicle. “That same vehicle was seen cruising around after Sara’s abduction,” he said. The man tried to lure two other women into his vehicle in southwest Houston, Quanell X added.
Meanwhile, Goodwin was seen on surveillance video “willfully” getting into the vehicle. Goodwin’s friends found her phone at an apartment complex in Houston, where they scoured for clues on Thursday and handed out missing person flyers to everyone around. “I know that she is scared and worried and I want her to know that people care about her,” her friend Finn said.
Cossette is being held without bond ahead of his court date which has been scheduled for Wednesday. It’s unclear if he’s hired an attorney yet.
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