RUPD, HPD investigating alleged murder-suicide at Jones College

By Riya Misra and Juliana Lightsey     8/26/24 7:07pm

Rice University Police Department is investigating an alleged murder-suicide on campus at Jones College, according to a Rice Alert sent at 5:39 p.m. to the Rice community. 

The victim, Rice junior Andrea Rodriguez Avila, was found shot at Jones, university president Reginald DesRoches confirmed in a press conference. RUPD officials arrived at the scene at around 4:30 p.m. Aug. 26, DesRoches said, in response to a request for a welfare check from one of Avila’s family members.

The suspect was a male, unaffiliated with Rice, found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He has now been identified as 22-year-old Habeneyom Belai, a recent graduate from the University of Florida. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. 

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There was no sign of forced entry, and RUPD Chief Clemente Rodriguez said Rodriguez Avila had likely given him access to the building. Residential halls are only accessible to Rice students through swiping a university ID.

Belai and Rodriguez Avila had a preexisting connection, Rodriguez said. RUPD found a note written by the suspect indicating the two had a “troubled” dating relationship. Rodriguez did not comment further on the contents of the note.

“This is a speech that no president ever wants to make,“ DesRoches said in his Aug. 26 press conference. “I want all of our students, our parents and the entire Rice community to know that the Rice campus is safe. There is no immediate threat, and tonight, we will wrap our arms around our students. As a parent of a past Rice student, I can only imagine how devastating this must be.”

Students and faculty received a shelter-in-place notice, which lifted an hour after it was issued. All classes and activities were canceled for the rest of the day. The Houston Police Department responded to the scene. A Houston Fire Department ambulance and Houston Forensic Science crime scene van were parked outside Jones and Brown Colleges. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing intimate partner abuse, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. If you or anyone you know are thinking about suicide or experiencing a health crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

[7:33 p.m., Aug. 26: This story was updated with more details surrounding the investigation.]

[8:55 p.m., Aug. 26: This story was updated with the victim’s identity and further details disclosed during DesRoches’ and Rodriguez’s press conference.]

[1:22 a.m., Aug. 27: This story was updated with further comments from DesRoches’ and Rodriguez’s press conference.]

[2:39 a.m., Aug. 30: This story was updated with further details about the suspect’s identity.]

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