Houston Man Sentenced to 90 Years for 2017 Crime Spree That Left Two Dead
A 60-year-old Houston man who killed two people and injured a third as part of a “list” of people he wanted dead was sentenced this week to 90 years in prison, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.
“Our prosecutors work hard to bring cases like this to trial to get justice for victims’ families who should not have to wait this long,” Ogg said. “This defendant played every game in the book to delay trial, but he was finally held accountable for his actions, and now, hopefully, the victims and families of the victims can move past this horrible episode.”
Russell Cormier was 53 when he fatally shot his ex-wife outside of her home and then drove to a former co-worker’s place of employment and killed him as part of a two-day crime spree across northeast Houston.
Cormier was apparently upset that his ex-wife, 61-year-old Fannie McWhite, who he had been divorced from for four years, went on a cruise. He confronted her outside of her home on Greencanyon Drive as she tried to go to work on the morning of April 17, 2017.
During an argument and struggle, he fatally shot her with a pistol. Cormier then drove to the trailer where he lived in northeast Houston, packed up a few things and set the trailer home on fire.
He then drove to a business on Kindred Street where he shot and killed a former co-worker, 60-year-old Thornton Bivens. Cormier and Bivens had not worked together for more than four years.
The next day, Cormier went back to his burned-out trailer home and used a shotgun to wound his neighbor, who survived. Cormier fled the scene and was arrested days later by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
The three shooting victims were not connected, except for previously having disagreements with Cormier.
Assistant District Attorney Sepi Zimmer prosecuted the six-day trial with ADA Bryan Honeycutt, who are both chiefs in the Major Offenders Division of the District Attorney’s Office.
“We are grateful that the jury agreed that this man is extremely dangerous to our community and deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison,” Zimmer said. “He had a mental list of people he was going to kill, and the people who are still alive should be able to live their lives in safety and without fear.”
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