A 25-year-old woman is currently being held on charges of murder and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an incident that occurred shortly before Thanksgiving.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office launched a manhunt for 25-year-old Kaitlyn Marie Bailey on November 22 after the bodies of her mother, Shari Bailey, and grandmother, Bertha Bailey, were found in a home located in the 3900 block of Joalene Court in Rendon.
The sheriff’s department posted on social media, alleging that the suspect was driving a 2007 Black Ford Fusion and warned that she was likely carrying a handgun.
Kaitlyn Marie Bailey was arrested several days later and booked into Lon Evans Corrections Center. Her bond was set at $200,000.
Bailey allegedly has a history of being violent toward family members, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She reportedly pled guilty to assaulting a relative in 2016 and to choking her mother in 2021.
Authorities have not yet suggested a motive for the alleged double homicide, however, one relative called the victims “[t]wo of the kindest souls I know,” according to NBC 5 DFW.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, Texas leads the nation in cases of “family annihilation.” This refers to when an individual kills two or more family members in a single event, according to the Indianapolis Star, which conducted an analysis of the phenomenon.
Between 2020 and early 2023, 33 such incidents were logged in the Lone Star State, nearly double those seen in Florida, which came second in the nationwide comparison.
In Dallas, where a longstanding police officer shortage has hindered authorities’ efforts to suppress violent crime, a total of 12,468 family violence crimes have been logged as of November 26, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard.
Of these incidents, 28 were fatal, contributing to the city’s rising murder rate. Some 220 murders have been clocked so far this year, marking a year-over-year increase of nearly 12%.
The Dallas Police Department currently fields fewer than 3,200 officers, while a City analysis recommends a force of at least 4,000 to maintain public safety properly within Dallas. The effects of the deficit are most apparent in Downtown Dallas, which, compared to nearby Fort Worth’s city center, logs considerably higher rates of crime on a regular basis.