Even in its charred, ruined condition, what remained of the home at 29503 Orchard Lane in Tomball could not accurately reflect the tragedy that occurred within its walls on Jan. 9, nor could it properly explain the shock felt by the Tomball community and by the residents of Spring Creek Estates.

On the evening of Jan. 9, 42-year-old Darren Hockenberry fired his shotgun into his wife’s head, 41-year-old Shirley Hockenberry, as she stood in the couple’s garage. Darren then doused the couple’s 4,000-square-foot home with more than 50 gallons of gasoline, leaving a trail of gas outside to beneath a breezeway that led to an attached apartment, lit the fuel, then shot himself in the head.

With the Hockenberrys laying dead, the home “exploded,” as Tomball Police Chief Rob Hauck explained it, with a massive fire being “fully involved” within minutes.

Neighbors quickly called 911 and by 7:30 p.m. Tomball Police Officers, paramedics and firefighters from Tomball, Magnolia, Cypress Creek and Rosehill arrived on the scene to do their best to extinguish the flames.

Hauck said it became evident almost immediately the blaze was not accidental.

“We started with the belief that it was arson,” he said, citing the quickness with which the fire grew. He added that concern began to grow when the Hockenberrys could not be reached by phone and both of their vehicles were found parked in the garage and driveway.

It wasn’t until 2:30 a.m. that fire was, for the most part, finally extinguished, but Hauck said there were still no signs of the Hockenberrys.

On Monday, Jan. 10, the Tomball Fire Marshal’s Office and Tomball Police Department initiated a joint investigation, which included interviewing neighbors and a conducting “missing persons” investigation, according to the Police Department.

“The next day (Monday), there were still no signs of them,” Hauck said. “We became concerned we had bodies on the premises.”

However, the search and investigation was tedious with firefighters still putting out “hot spots” throughout what was left of the home and investigators digging through “three feet of rubble,” Hauck said.

Their fears were confirmed Tuesday morning when investigators found what they believed to be the remains of Darren Hockenberry laying in the breezeway near an attached garage with a shotgun laying nearby.

The search continued throughout the evening for Shirley Hockenberry, but by nightfall, her body had yet to be found and the search was called off for the night, Hauck said.

“We knew we couldn’t stop until we turned over every piece of soot, debris, every piece of floor,” he said.

At 10 a.m. the next morning, investigators found yet another grisly discovery: the charred remains of who they believe to be Shirley Hockenberry in the garage.

While the remains have yet to be formally identified by the Harris County Institute for Forensic Science, Hauck said they are certain the bodies are those of Darren and Shirley and that the two were killed by gunshot wounds.

On Jan. 12, the Tomball Police Department issued a statement declaring the incident a murder-suicide.

Hauck said that no note had been found by authorities and a motive behind the killings remains unclear.

Media reports state that Shirley Hockenberry either had planned to or had already filed for divorce. A search of Harris County District Clerk Divorce Records revealed no divorce filings for the Hockenberrys. The couple had no children.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed