A Houston man who pistol-whipped and then fatally shot his girlfriend’s adult brother during an argument in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison by a Harris County jury, District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“Domestic violence doesn’t just affect the person who is being abused, it affects the entire family,” Ogg said. “All too often domestic violence escalates to murder, and this case shows that a family member can lose their life just trying to help someone else get out of an abusive relationship.”

Kempsha L. Wilson, 28, was sentenced Thursday after five days of trial for the murder of 32-year-old Spencer Nichols on Feb. 15, 2022.

The day before the shooting, which was Valentine’s Day, Wilson and his girlfriend got into a heated argument about him contacting another woman. Testimony showed that Wilson choked and beat his girlfriend during that fight.

Because of his actions, the woman threw Wilson out of her apartment. They lived in an apartment complex on Kipp Way Drive in southwest Houston, just outside Beltway 8 near the Southwest Freeway.

During the fight, she pulled a handgun and fired a shot at him without result to emphasize that she wanted him out of her home. She also texted Nichols, her brother, to come help her.

After Nichols arrived, Wilson returned to the apartment with an AK-47-style assault rifle and threatened her and Nichols, who was able to get Wilson to leave.

Nichols eventually took his sister and her two young daughters to his home for the night because they feared for their lives.

Around noon the next day, the woman, her daughters and Nichols went back to the apartment to change their clothes. Nichols’ three children were also with them.

While they were at the apartment, Wilson arrived with a handgun. He was flanked by at least two other armed men. The woman pulled her pistol for self-defense, but Wilson took it away from her.

With a pistol in each hand, he confronted Nichols in front of the apartment and pistol-whipped him. He then put the barrel of one of the guns to Nichols’ chest and fired, killing him in front of his three kids. Wilson and the men he was with then fled.

Detectives with the Homicide Division of the Houston Police Department investigated the shooting and charged Wilson, who was arrested nine days later.

Assistant District Attorneys Jason Campo, who is a chief assigned to the DA’s Trial Bureau, and Gabriel Kabak prosecuted the case. Campo noted that Wilson’s criminal history includes going to prison three times before this murder.

“The victim was just trying to be a good big brother by defending his sister, and it cost him his life,” Campo said. “The defendant has already had several second chances and continues to hurt people, so the jury agreed that he needed to be in prison for life.”

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