Alexus Chenelle Williams has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for her role in the 2021 Houston killings that left a couple and their 6-year-old daughter dead.
Williams, 33, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three reduced murder charges connected to the deaths of Donyavia Lagway, 29, Gregory Carhee, 35, and their daughter, Harmony Carhee. The plea agreement brought an end to a case that had originally included three capital murder charges.
The killings happened on June 30, 2021, at an apartment complex in the 12101 Fondren Road area of southwest Houston.
Investigators said Williams had previously been in a relationship with Lagway. Prosecutors alleged that she arranged for her childhood friend, Xavier Davis, to go to the family’s apartment and carry out the attack. According to the case evidence, Davis was told there was money inside the home that he could take.
Davis entered the apartment after Carhee opened the door and opened fire. Lagway, Carhee and their 6-year-old daughter were killed. Another child, who was 10 at the time, was also shot but survived after playing dead during the attack. A 1-year-old child who was inside the apartment survived as well.
The surviving girl later helped lead relatives and police to the apartment. Houston police had responded to the scene around 10:30 p.m. and found the three victims dead from gunshot wounds. The 10-year-old was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Evidence eventually linked Williams to the killings
Davis was identified by investigators shortly after the shooting and was arrested on July 1, 2021. Police said information from the investigation connected him to the attack, and he was subsequently charged with three counts of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Investigators continued building a case against Williams. She was arrested in March 2022, about eight months after the killings.
Evidence presented during the later proceedings included communications between Williams and Davis. Prosecutors accused Williams of helping arrange the attack, while her defense disputed the extent of her involvement and argued that she had intended for Davis to commit a robbery rather than murder.
The case also came back into focus during Davis’ 2025 capital murder proceedings. Testimony from the surviving child provided jurors with an account of what happened inside the apartment that night.
Davis was sentenced to death in 2025
Davis pleaded guilty to the killings during his 2025 trial, but the case continued into the punishment phase because prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.
In April 2025, a Harris County jury sentenced Davis to death for the murders of Lagway, Carhee and Harmony. The proceedings included testimony from the surviving child, who had been 10 years old when the shooting occurred.
Williams’ case followed a different path.
She initially faced capital murder charges, which could have resulted in a sentence of life in prison without parole if she had been convicted at trial. Instead, she accepted a plea agreement on Sept. 29, 2026, receiving a 40-year prison sentence on the reduced murder charges. An additional aggravated assault charge was also dropped as part of the agreement.
Williams is expected to be eligible for parole after serving 30 years.
The sentence closes the latest chapter in a case that began with the deaths of three members of the Carhee family in 2021 and later led to separate criminal proceedings against the person who carried out the shooting and the woman prosecutors accused of arranging it.
