A Houston man already behind bars on an unrelated murder charge is now accused of killing a 29-year-old woman found strangled in her apartment nearly two decades ago. Zachary Harper, 47, has been charged with murder in the September 15, 2007 death of Yoshea Jarmon, who was found deceased inside her home at 9555 Crofton Street.
Cold Case Breaks Open After Years
The murder charge against Harper was filed in the 338th Criminal District Court, according to the City of Houston. Per Univision, Jarmon was found inside her apartment presenting signs of having been strangled, according to Detective J. Caten's report. Investigators with HPD's Homicide Cold Case Unit believe Jarmon and Harper had a history of family violence, the outlet reports.
Witnesses told investigators they saw a man they believed was Harper near the apartment around the time Jarmon's body was discovered, per the same account attributed to Detective Caten. Jarmon's vehicle had also been taken and was recovered days later near a location where the suspect was staying, according to that report.
Case Reached the DA's Office After Fresh Evidence Work
The report notes that after further investigative work and evidence analysis, investigators consulted the Harris County District Attorney's Office, and the charge followed. The case underscores how cold-case homicide units can revisit decades-old evidence as new leads or forensic review bring a suspect back into focus.
Harper was already in custody when the charge was filed, and he remains jailed on murder charges tied to an unrelated incident, per the same account. A city release regarding that separate case, issued in April, indicated Harper had been charged in connection with a fatal shooting of a man found on Saint Elmo Street in September 2023, also filed in the 338th Criminal District Court.
Police stress that a charge is not a finding of guilt, and the case remains before the court. No outcome of the Jarmon charge has been reported.
