Fort Worth man pistol-whipped girlfriend days before he shot her to death, warrant says
On the night of Dec. 19, Michael Branch called 911, needing an ambulance, and an operator could hear him say, “Please stay with me baby.”
Seconds later a woman’s voice could be heard on the 911 call, saying “Oh my God,” and later “She fell, she fell,” according to a warrant.
Fort Worth police and paramedics arrived a few minutes later and found the body of a woman with gunshot wounds to her head. The victim was identified as Symone Hines.
The woman on the 911 called was later identified as Branch’s mother, who told authorities she found the dead woman in her Fort Worth residence and no one else had been home.
But an investigation led to the arrest of Michael Branch, who fled his mother’s home before officers arrived that December night, police said.
Branch was arrested last month and charged with the murder of Hines, his girlfriend, who died from two gunshot wounds to her head.
No one else has been arrested in the case.
The Fort Worth man remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Friday on $250,000 bail on the murder charge. He also is being held on charges of theft and failure to identify.
Fort Worth detectives did not release a motive for the shooting, but HInes had told a friend that Branch had pistol-whipped her in the past and investigators discovered a video which showed Branch threatening Hines with a gun and forcing her to leave with him just days before she was killed.
A warrant written by Fort Worth Detectives K.C. Sullivan gave this brief account of the shooting:
Branch’s mother told detectives she had allowed Hines to stay at her Fort Worth home on the night of Dec. 19 because it was cold.
Hines slept in a bedroom while Branch’s mother slept on a couch.
Branch’s mother said she heard a noise and found Hines lying on the floor. She said no one else was in her home at that time and she did not own a handgun.
But a 911 call indicated that a man later identified as Michael Branch had called from his mother’s home and reported someone was hurt.
Branch fled the home before authorities arrived.
In an interview with detectives after Hines was found dead, Branch’s mother was adamant that nobody else was in her home except for her and Hines.
Detectives played the 911 call that came from her home and Branch’s mother later admitted that her son had been in the home, but she didn’t know how he had gotten into her residence.
During the investigation, Hine’s mother received a video from one of her daughter’s friends, showing Branch threatening to shoot and hit Hines.
Detectives interviewed one of Hine’s friends who told them that she had seen a bruise on Hines after Branch had pistol-whipped her.
