Uriah Urick Jr is a teen killer from Texas who was convicted of the murder of Tammy King, the Grandmother of his girlfriend Tara King
According to court documents Uriah Urick Jr and his girlfriend Tara King plotted for weeks the robbery and murder of Tammy King
Tammy King was found shot to death inside of her home with all of her valuables stolen and her safe was emptied. Uriah Urick Jr and Tara King would flee the area however they would be arrested soon after
Uriah Urick Jr would be arrested, convicted and was sentenced to life in prison
Tara King was also arrested and charged. Her trial begins in December
Uriah Urick Jr Case
A Galveston County jury on Friday found Uriah Lee Urick Jr., 18, guilty of capital murder in the February killing of his girlfriend’s grandmother, Tammy King, following a week of testimony that revealed text messages, digital evidence, and a detailed plan to rob and kill the 61-year-old woman.
After deliberating for about three and a half hours, the jury of nine women and three men returned the guilty verdict, ending five days of emotional and often graphic testimony. The conviction carries an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors told jurors that Urick and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Tara Lynn King, began plotting the killing weeks before it occurred. Text and Instagram messages shown in court revealed the couple discussing kidnapping, robbing, and killing Tammy King, while pretending to friends that they were victims of her alleged abuse and drug use.
Assistant District Attorneys described a clear progression from fantasy to planning to action — with messages as early as January 26 detailing plans to steal antique coins, cash, methamphetamine, and firearms from safes inside King’s home near Santa Fe.
Evidence showed that Tammy King was shot in the head on Feb. 5, and her body was later discovered under blankets during a welfare check. Safes were found emptied; ammunition boxes marked with the initials of King’s late husband were recovered.
Urick and Tara King fled to Laredo the next day, carrying high-value firearms, antique coins, and roughly $5,400 in cash, prosecutors said. Witnesses testified they boasted about having money and offered guns as barter for rides or lodging. One witness told jurors Urick said he “couldn’t get the smell of burning flesh out of his nose.”
The state argued that the killing was a premeditated robbery motivated by greed, methamphetamine use, and resentment.
“Access is not permission,” prosecutors told the jury, emphasizing that while Tara King lived in the home, she had no lawful right to open safes or take property belonging to her grandmother.
They also pointed to explicit messages exchanged before the murder, including references to testing firearms — “5.56 shred through skin” — and scheduling the attack: “Kill her at 4” and “We ride at dawn.”
After the killing, Urick sent messages describing the event as “the start of the rest of our lives,” prosecutors said.
Defense attorney Bill Agnew acknowledged Urick’s involvement in the killing but argued the state failed to prove robbery occurred concurrently with the homicide, a necessary element of capital murder.
Agnew urged jurors to convict on murder, not capital murder, describing the defendants as “two naïve, drug-influenced teenagers chasing independence, not money.”
Urick’s access to Tammy King’s home and safes was longstanding and familiar, not part of a robbery, he said.
“This was not a crime of greed,” Agnew said. “It was a misguided attempt to be adults.”
The defense also framed the violent text messages as immature posturing by intoxicated teens with no understanding of consequence.
Jurors sided with the prosecution, concluding that Urick killed Tammy King while robbing her of cash and firearms, meeting the legal threshold for capital murder.
The verdict followed testimony from a cooperating witness, Travis Wayne Hodge, who said he drove Urick and King to Laredo after the killing and dropped them off at the Bethany House homeless shelter. Hodge told jurors Urick offered him $1,000 for the ride and confessed he “couldn’t get the smell of burning flesh” out of his nose during the trip.
Hodge also admitted he later helped investigators locate the murder weapons in a Bacliff storage unit and is serving a 10-year prison sentence for drug and firearm offenses in exchange for his cooperation.
Urick showed little visible reaction as the verdict was read. Tara King, who was 17 at the time of the crime, is awaiting trial.
Bacliff teen found guilty of capital murder; faces life in prison | Local News | The Daily News
Uriah Urick Jr Sentencing
The man charged with killing his 17-year-old girlfriend’s grandmother in Galveston County earlier this year was found guilty of capital murder on Friday. Uriah Urick was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The victim’s granddaughter, Tara King, was also charged with capital murder after 61-year-old Tammy King was found shot to death in the bedroom of her Bacliff home on February 6. She is awaiting trial.
The teenage couple was arrested in Laredo three days after the murder.
Investigators said they killed Tammy because Tara was angry after arguing with her about going to school.
“Justice has been served for Tammy King and her loved ones,” Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen said.
Tammy’s nude body was found by her boyfriend when he went to her home to check on her. She’d been shot in the head.
The boyfriend told deputies the house was “ransacked” and guns were missing from the safes in Tammy’s bedrooms.
Investigators discovered thousands of dollars had been transferred from Tammy’s bank account to Tara’s Cash App account, according to court documents. Records show there were also failed attempts to transfer $5,000 and $20,000.
Detectives later discovered an “unknown person” linked a bank account to Tammy’s Cash App account.
Investigators interviewed Urick’s mother, who described her son as having anxiety, depression and a history of self-harm. She said he had threatened his stepfather and been physically abusive to his siblings.
On Friday, Feb. 7, deputies searched for Urick, but he wasn’t home. The mother told investigators that she began texting and calling Urick because she was worried, but he told her to stop calling and not search for him.
Urick’s mother, who had access to his bank account, showed detectives the account. There were numerous Cash App transactions made between Urick and Tara on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
According to court documents, the mom said she believed her son was capable of murder. She also told investigators that Tara “hated” her grandma because she wouldn’t allow Urick to spend the night at the house.
Urick’s mother also said Tara had recently stated that she wanted her grandma to die. Urick’s stepfather also believed Urick was capable of murder due to his “violent tendencies,” according to court documents.
After Tara and Urick were named persons of interest, a man called GCSO to report that on Wednesday, Tara had contacted him on Instagram asking for a ride to Wyoming for $300. He said Tara asked if Urick could store guns in the trunk because they were “sentimental” to him.
The man was unable to give them a ride so he asked another friend to do it instead. Urick texted the man an address in Bacliff. Once he arrived, Urick and Tara placed two assault rifles in the trunk, court documents said.
Urick and Tara directed the man to an address in Pearland. Once there, they met with another man and got in another vehicle.
A woman called GCSO to report she had been messaging Tara on Instagram. She said Tara told her she ran away due to her abusive grandmother, who used drugs.
When asked if she took her social security card or birth certificate, Tara said she wouldn’t be able to get them and that she would never be able to talk to her family after this.
The woman sent Tara screenshots of a post on the GCSO’s Facebook page naming her and Urick as persons of interest in this case. Tara replied, begging her not to say anything, according to court documents.
When asked if she killed her grandmother, the woman told investigators that Tara didn’t answer and instead said they were in Dallas.
Court documents state that a man contacted the League City Police Department to report that Tara and Urick had stayed with him for a few days after reaching out on Instagram on Wednesday.
He said when they arrived, they cut and dyed their hair. They also offered the man money to drive them to Illinois, Wyoming or Idaho.
He told detectives the couple had six guns and tried to sell them through the man’s coworkers, but no one bought them, according to court documents.
The man said he went to work on Friday morning and when he got back, Tara and Urick were gone, leaving their dog with his neighbor.
Another woman called GCSO to report that Tara had contacted her for a ride in exchange for money. She said that Tara admitted to her that she and Urick killed Tammy because they were angry at Tammy and high on meth, according to court documents.
She also told investigators that Tara admitted to her that they stole money and guns from Tammy.
Tara and Urick were arrested in Laredo on Sunday, Feb. 9 with the assistance of the Gulf Coast Violent Offender Task Force.
Texas teens arrested in Galveston County grandmother’s shooting death | khou.com
