Katy, TX: Man kills 3 relatives, then turns gun on himself in Katy

By PAIGE HEWITT and CINDY GEORGE Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Aug. 16, 2009, 12:50AM

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Karen Warren Chronicle

Friends and family members comfort each other outside the Katy home where three people were killed.

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TOMAS CARREON'S CRIMINAL HISTORY

• July 29, 1999: Carreon begins a four-year state prison sentence for aggravated assault and possession of a prohibited weapon convictions.

• Jan. 24, 2002: Carreon is released on parole.

• Nov. 16, 2002: Carreon is charged with assault causing bodily injury.

• March 15, 2005: Carreon and Mayra Renteria apply for a marriage license, which was never returned to the Harris County Clerk's Office.

• Nov. 13, 2006: Carreon charged with assaulting Renteria

• Nov. 20, 2006: A protective order is issued prohibiting Carreon from committing violence against Renteria, threatening her or possessing a firearm.

• March 16, 2007: A family assault charge is dismissed because of a “missing witness.”

• Nov. 19, 2007: Carreon and Renteria marry.

• August 15, 2009: Carreon kills Mayra Renteria's mother and father, their 14-year-old son and himself.

Sources: Court records, Texas Department of Criminal Justice

A man with a history of violence went on a shooting rampage in Katy early Saturday morning — killing three relatives before turning the gun on himself.

Mayra Renteria, 24, called 911 around 2:30 a.m. to report that her estranged husband, Tomas Carreon, 29, had entered the home in the 19400 block of Tree Orchard, where she was staying with her teenage brother and parents.

Authorities arrived to find Robert J. Schaerer, 49, and his wife, Marina Schaerer, 42, dead in the living room. Salvador Renteria Jr., 14, was killed in a bedroom.

Mayra Renteria was not injured.

Officials have not yet released a possible motive.

Carreon fled on foot to a nearby shopping center in the 19500 block of Clay. As deputies arrived, they heard a single gunshot and found the man dead.

While residents of the Katy neighborhood were shocked by the incident, Carreon's criminal history paints a portrait of a man with a decade-long record of violence.

In August 1998, he was charged with deadly conduct, a count dismissed when the case was refiled. Nearly a year later, Carreon went to state prison for assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon.

By November 2006, Carreon faced a charge for assaulting Renteria. A week later, a judge granted her an emergency protective order. The case was dismissed in March 2007 because of a missing witness.

A few days before Thanksgiving that year, the couple married.

Chad Bujano, Carreon's friend of more than 10 years, said he'd never known the man to be violent. He asked that the family be given privacy. “They are freaking out, as you can imagine,” he said.

Neighbor Kimberly Whitaker said she learned about the shootings around 8 a.m.

“It's just shocking. Totally shocking,” she said. “They were as sweet as they could be. They were good people and great neighbors who were just trying to take care of their family.”

Whitaker, who has two children, said the gunman had three small daughters with his estranged wife. They had been living at the home since late last year.

Whitaker was unaware of whether the gunman also resided in the home.

The 14-year-old boy — Renteria Jr. — enjoyed basketball, football and skateboarding, Whitaker added.

“He was a good kid. He was a sweet guy,” she said.

Other neighbors remembered the incoming sophomore at Mayde Creek High School as being good-hearted, playful and a strong student.

Classmates admired his handsome looks and beautiful hair. “He was such a sweetheart, and he was smart,” said Valerie Al-Sulaim, whose children were friends with the boy. “It's such a shame. He really was a good kid.”

The home where the three died is owned by Robert Schaerer, a pastry chef with his own cake business and former executive chef at Pine Forest Country Club.

After nearly 30 years of preparing meals at upscale hotels and country clubs, Schaerer plunged full-time into his own cake and pastry business last year.

“He was just extremely, extremely creative and talented and just a very good person,” said Bill Horton, general manager of Pine Forest Country Club, where Schaerer spent five years as executive chef. Horton said the “well-liked” chef loved “anything out of the ordinary and over the top.”