HOUSTON — The husband of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Supervisory Officer killed his wife inside their house Thanksgiving night, according to a League City Police spokesman.
Family and the couple’s two sons were inside the house at the time, police said.
Dudley Bernard, 40, surrendered to League City Police in his front yard on Indigo Harbor Lane, a police spokesman said. There was no struggle. Officers did hear screams, though.
Inside Bernard’s house near the front door, officers found Bernard’s wife, Chauntelle, 42, shot several times. She did not survive.
Police received several 911 calls when shots were fired. Trouble started after a disturbance in the house, officers said. Dudley Bernard walked out the family’s back door then returned with a handgun, a police spokesman said. Moments later, his wife was shot.
Both Dudley and Chauntelle Bernard worked for U.S. CBP.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialist Dudley Bernard was arrested by the League City Police Department on Nov. 28 while he was off duty,” Public Affairs Specialist Dennis Smith wrote in a statement to KHOU 11. “Since August 2008, he has worked CBP agriculture operations in the Houston Seaport environment. CBP is fully cooperating with the League City Police Department who is leading this investigation. CBP Officer Chauntelle Bernard joined CBP in 2008 and she worked her way up the supervisory chain to become a supervisory CBP officer. Houston was her only duty station. No words can express the sense of loss SCBPO Bernard’s death brings to her colleagues and friends in CBP. Please direct any further inquiries to the League City Police Department.”
One of Chauntelle’s close friends left a note for Bernard’s relatives on the front door of the family home Friday night. That friend told KHOU 11 the couple showed no signs of trouble.
Neighbors too hurt and stunned to speak on camera said the Bernards were open. They allowed older children in the community to babysit the couple’s sons. The Bernards also went to church with League City’s police chaplain.
“This is a tragic event happening here in League City and we just want to do what we can to help the family,” Detective John Griffith, LCPD spokesman said.
Child Protective Services is involved in the case, Det. Griffith said.
Dudley Bernard is charged with murder.
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