GUILTY TX - Dr. Mario Gonzalez, 56, murdered at his Bellville ranch, 22 Aug 2009

[CuriousTwo]

Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez was chief of the critical care section at The Methodist Hospital in Houston.

Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez is shown at his Bellville ranch with his grandson Anthony. Gonzalez was killed on Saturday at his 30-acre property.

Two suspects' vehicles leaving the scene of the crime:

Doctor's Murder Leaves
Town in Shock

Updated: Sunday, 23 Aug 2009, 12:44 AM CDT
Published : Sunday, 23 Aug 2009, 12:44 AM CDT

* CHRIS STIPES

BELLVILLE, Texas - A small Texas town is rocked by murder and a county-wide manhunt for the shooters. Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez, a critical care doctor at Houston's Methodist Hospital, was killed while another man was shot.

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http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/090822_bellville_doctor_murder

 

[CuriousTwo]

Photos released in doctor's killing

Monday, August 24, 2009 | 6:13 PM

By Kevin Quinn

BELLVILLE, TX (KTRK) -- We are learning more about the death of a Houston doctor who was shot and killed at his ranch in Bellville over the weekend. Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez was killed after he, his wife and a ranch hand arrived at the property. Investigators released photos that they hope will lead to the killers.

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http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6979534

 

[CuriousTwo]

Five Suspects Sought In Murder Of Texas Doctor
Authorities were seeking five suspects Monday after a suburban Texas doctor was shot to death at his weekend ranch home.


BELLVILLE (August 24, 2009)--A suburban Houston pulmonary specialist was shot to death Saturday at his 30-acre weekend ranch home and Monday authorities were looking for five suspects in the slaying.

Authorities said the five men burst into the home of Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez, 56, and shot him and another man Saturday...
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http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/54546982.html

 

[CuriousTwo]

Son of slain doctor: He was a perfect father, great physician

07:13 PM CDT on Monday, August 24, 2009

By Courtney Zubowski / 11 News

HOUSTON&#8212;The son of a prominent Houston doctor killed at his ranch in Austin County says the community has lost a great man who came into this world to help others.
Prominent doctor killed
Son of slain doctor speaks out
August 24, 2009
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Dr. Mario Gonzalez, the chief of the critical care section of Methodist Hospital, was shot and killed Saturday in Bellville.

&#8220;It&#8217;s deeply saddening for all of us,&#8221; said his son, Juan Mauricio Gonzalez. &#8220;We are a tight-knit family and he was just a perfect man, a perfect father and a great physician.&#8221;

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http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou090824_tnt_doctor-gonzalez-killed.10f7e2424.html

 

[STEADFAST]

Those robbers were ruthless! I'm so glad they didn't find the mom and toddler. But it's terribly sad for the doctor's family and friends. Sounds like he was a wonderful man.

 

[CuriousTwo]

Police: 4 suspects sought in Texas doctor's slaying

Now they've clarified to say that they're looking for four suspects, not 5.

Story Highlights

• Suspects were at doctor's house when he, wife and child arrived, police say
• Police responded to 911 call of burglary at rural home of Houston, Texas, doctor
• Police found Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez shot to death and a ranch worker badly injured
• Gonzalez's wife and toddler found unharmed; they reportedly hid in a closet

(CNN) -- Four suspects are sought in connection with the shooting death over the weekend of a Houston, Texas, doctor, Austin County authorities said Monday.

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http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/24/texas.doctor.killed/

 

[CuriousTwo]

Sounds as if there's a whole lot more to this story than we know right now. The area is popular for "weekend ranchers" who live in the city and play rancher on the weekend in the country. Most thieves would have a much easier time in breaking into a home on week days, as opposed to weekends when the owners are there. Would hate to think that the doctor was their sole target, as opposed to "just" a burglary.

Or, perhaps the doctor and his wife startled the burglars when they arrived, but then things got way out of hand?

Just speculating blindly here, since not much info is being released.

 

[VCDaedalus]

Wife's contract on husband?

 

[SuziQ]

Alot of people posting on various articles aren't buying this story. They mostly agree that it's too miraculous that the wife was unharmed and wonder how she was able to get away from 4 armed men and make her way to a closet.

 

[Angels_Not_Forgotten]

I too agree that something is off with the wife and child hiding. As much as I would love to believe that these guys just didn't bother them because she was with the child, we all see way to many stories on here where that is not the case.

I am truly sad for the family and friends that this man has left behind. No one has anything bad to say about him, even in light of other's accusing the wife and that's something you don't typically see.

I will pray every night that I am wrong, that this was just a robbery gone wrong, and that peace will envelope his family and friends and they will have enough strength to carry on in this sad event

 

[CuriousTwo]

Snipped from February 2008 Methodist Hospital Newsletter:

"When Mario is not working, he enjoys spending time racing sports cars and working on his ranch. He and his wife Charleen Chuke (Charleen Taniel Chuke Gonzalez) are also the proud parents of a new baby boy, Mario Raphael Gonzalez. Mario Raphael is the godson of Dr. Rafael Espada, Vice President of Guatemala."

http://www.methodisthealth.com/tmhs...entId=205648&contentType=GENERIC_CONTENT_TYPE

Interesting tidbit.

 

[CuriousTwo]

Aug 24, 7:27 PM EDT

Police seek suspects in Texas doctor's slaying



BELLVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Police are searching for four suspects in connection with the weekend shooting death of a suburban Houston doctor.

Authorities said suspects in two vehicles, a white Ford F-150 pickup truck and a red Acura or Honda sedan, got past road blocks as they fled the scene, said Lisa Block of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

On Saturday, 56-year-old Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez was shot to death as he was arriving at his 30-acre ranch in Bellville, 60 miles northwest of Houston. Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Block said the suspects were at the home when they attacked Gonzalez's family. Ranch hand Noel Galvan was also wounded but is in fair condition at a local hospital, said Sgt. Paul Faircloth of the Austin County sheriff's office.

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DOCTOR_SLAIN?SITE=SCFLO&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

[CuriousTwo]

Hope they catch these guys soon. No report yet on whether or not anything was stolen from the house.

 

[shgrbkr]

Are the vehicle pics above THE actual vehicles involved in the crime? If so, that's quite a stroke of luck for LE.
I agree something certainly is fishy here with the wife and kid being able to get into the house and hide. This is just the kind of thing LE figures out and then it becomes an episode of 48hrs mystery, Dateline, American Justice and Forensic Files.

 

[CuriousTwo]

Are the vehicle pics above THE actual vehicles involved in the crime? If so, that's quite a stroke of luck for LE.
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Yes, those are the actual vehicles, according to one of the articles.

 

[CuriousTwo]

Jorge Mario González Obituary

JORGE MARIO GONZALEZ ZAMORA, MD tragically passed away on the 22nd of August 2009 at the age of only 56. Dr. Gonzalez was born on the 17th of February 1953 to Jorge Mario González Salvatierra and Madga Judith Zamora de González in Guatemala City, Guatemala. On the 15th of November 2008, he married his soul mate, Charleen Chuke at their ranch in Bellville, TX. They were blessed with a baby boy, Mario Raphael Gonzalez and a second unborn baby boy due on Dr. Gonzalez's birthday. He graduated with his MD from Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala City, Guatemala in 1977. Also at Universidad de San Carlos, he did his residency in Internal Medicine. He later attended Baylor College of Medicine where he completed his fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine in 1983, in Internal Medicine in 1985 and in Critical Care in 1986, all of which he is board certified. Dr. Gonzalez then received dual academic appointments at both the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as a Clinical Assistant Internist, and the Baylor College of Medicine as a Clinical Instructor in the Pulmonary Section. He became an Assistant Professor in the Pulmonary Section at Baylor two years later. Dr. Gonzalez's research has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and he has presented at numerous scientific sessions.
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http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=131899070

It think the obit has his last names switched - I think it should be "Zamora Gonzalez" because Zamora is his mother's maiden name.

 

[CuriousTwo]

I'm glad the reward has been increased- earlier in the week it was reported that the reward was $3,500 and now it's up to $28,000. This was a very wealthy physician - I was surprised the family didn't offer more. JMHO.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/24/texas.doctor.killed/index.html

Nothing has been reported yet giving any hope that LE is closer to finding these guys. I agree that in all likelihood, they're in Mexico by now.

 

[CuriousTwo]

Investigators to announce break in doctor's shooting case
By PEGGY O'HARE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Aug. 28, 2009, 3:05PM


The Austin County Sheriff's Office has called a press conference for this afternoon to announce developments in the investigation of a well-known Houston doctor's shooting death at his Bellville ranch.

Investigators would not reveal what they plan to announce about the slaying of Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez, 56, a pulmonary medicine specialist and chief of the critical care section of The Methodist Hospital in Houston.

Gonzalez was shot to death at his ranch last Saturday afternoon in the 6400 block of South Sycamore Crossing, located outside the city limits of Bellville, about 65 miles west of Houston. One of his ranch hands was also shot, but survived. Gonzalez's wife of nine months, Charleen Chuke Gonzalez, 29, who is pregnant, hid inside the house with the couple's 2-year-old son, and they were not harmed.

Sheriff's investigators have refused to say if anything was stolen from the residence, which is located in an isolated area near no major highways. A Bellville police officer, who was first to arrive in the neighborhood after Gonzalez's wife called 911, saw two suspicious vehicles leaving the scene. Someone inside one of those vehicles fired gunshots at the officer, but did not hit him or his patrol car. Both of the suspicious vehicles then left the area as the officer continued on to Gonzalez's ranch.

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6591619.html

 

[CuriousTwo]

Texas doctor slain at ranch where he found respite
By MONICA RHOR Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated Press
Aug. 28, 2009, 2:21PM


HOUSTON — On the last morning of his life, Jorge Mario Gonzalez drove to his beloved Four Oaks Farm, a 30-acre ranch tucked away in the bucolic Texas countryside, his pregnant wife and 21-month-old son by his side.

There, just outside the small town of Bellville, the 56-year-old Houston doctor could step away from his pressure-packed work life as chief of critical care at The Methodist Hospital and head of a thriving private practice. He fed the cattle, mowed the grass and mulched the trees.

It was a cherished weekend routine for the Guatemalan immigrant who had earned a reputation as one of the city's premier physicians, a pulmonary medical specialist who greeted colleagues with a ready smile and never balked at spending hours by a patient's bedside.

But on Aug. 15, the doctor's soul-calming ritual was shattered by gunfire when four would-be burglars surprised the family soon after they arrived at the ranch.

Gonzalez died at the scene. A ranch employee was wounded. The doctor's wife, Charleen, called 911 as she hid from the intruders with the couple's son, Mario. Neither was injured.

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/6591551.html

 

[CuriousTwo]

Brothers charged in Houston doc's slaying
Officers now looking for a cousin of the suspect
By PEGGY O'HARE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Aug. 28, 2009, 5:35PM


Two brothers have been charged with murder in the shooting death of a well-known Houston doctor at his Bellville ranch last weekend.

Austin County Sheriff's officials Friday said Cristobal Galvan Cerna, 23, and Moises Galvan Cerna, 18, both of the Sharpstown area, have been arrested. They are accused of killing Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez, 56, a pulmonary medicine specialist and chief of the critical care section at The Methodist Hospital in Houston.

Officials are looking for a cousin of the brothers, identified as Misael Santollo, 20.

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6591619.html