Woman said she moved to Houston to be near family, but relatives say a message about her sister on her phone read ‘kill Aveyia and take her stuff’

A 20-year-old woman and her boyfriend are facing capital murder charges in Houston after court records said they robbed and killed her older sister inside the sister’s apartment, according to Law&Crime. Alaya Jones, 20, and Kaleb Maglott, 25, are accused in the death of 27-year-old Aveyia Webb.

Relatives say Webb was found on the couch of her apartment in the 8100 block of Richmond Avenue after an aunt went to check on her because she had stopped responding to messages. The aunt, Beverly Hobbs, said she knocked, received no answer, and went inside. Family members said the silence was out of character for Webb.

Jones had been living in Florida with Maglott and told relatives she wanted to move back to Houston to be closer to family and friends. Webb’s aunt Edie Smith-Anderson said text messages found on Jones’ phone point to a plan, claiming the pair “bought a gun in Florida” and traveled to Houston to “Kill Aveyia and take her stuff.”

Relatives say they never imagined they would have to protect Webb from her own sister.

Smith-Anderson told reporters, “We would have never thought we had to protect her from her own little sister.” Relatives say Jones and Maglott stole Webb’s wallet and vehicle and drove off, and Houston police arrested both suspects later that day. Both are charged with capital murder and remain in the Harris County Jail without bond.

A next court date had not been listed. Under Texas law, a killing committed during a robbery can qualify as capital murder, a charge that has also surfaced in other recent cases involving the alleged killing of family members. Jones and Maglott have not been convicted, and the charges against them are allegations that must still be proven in court.

Webb worked as a hairstylist and was preparing to begin pharmacy school, according to relatives and friends. Rosie Hart, a close friend and the sister of Webb’s boyfriend, said Webb brought positivity to the people around her and was known for her love of good food. “There was not a time that you could say anything negative about Aveyia,” Hart said.

Hobbs compared Webb to a butterfly about to spread her wings, saying her niece was ready to take on the world. She said Webb’s light was taken by “not a stranger, but her family member,” someone Webb “would have done anything for.” Hobbs added that the future Webb had ahead of her is what makes the loss so hard for the family.

The discovery came on a Thursday morning, according to relatives, and both defendants were arrested the same day. However, the family’s account of the text messages comes from relatives who say investigators found them on Jones’ phone, while court records themselves say the pair robbed and killed Webb inside the apartment.

Jones and Maglott remain jailed without bond as the case moves through Harris County courts, where a first hearing could set the schedule for the proceedings.