Man pleads guilty to murder, assault charges in case involving teen’s death, attempted murder of mother

An Olivia man has taken a deal and pleaded guilty to two of the three charges filed against him in a case involving the death of a 13-year-old boy and the attempted murder of the teen’s mother.

According to court records, 39-year-old Houston Allen Morris entered a guilty plea Wednesday to one count of unintentional second-degree murder and one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

RELATED: 13-year-old dead, mother injured following domestic incident in Olivia

Initially, Morris was charged in March of 2022 with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder, however the attempted murder charge was later amended to second-degree assault.

As part of the plea deal, the second count of second-degree murder will be dismissed.

Court records say a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 10.

The criminal complaint states that law enforcement was dispatched to East Lincoln Avenue, where a victim reported that he had been stabbed in the chest with a knife. That victim, later determined to be a 13-year-old boy, was brought to the hospital to be treated for life-threatening injuries. He later died from his injuries at the hospital, according to the complaint.

Police then spoke to the second victim of the assault, the boy’s mother. Police noted that she had a laceration to her head and right finger, cut wounds on the palm of her hand and several deep purple bite marks on her arm.

She told police that Morris had stabbed her son. The woman was in a relationship with Morris and that they had been living together for the past two weeks.

The complaint states that the woman told police an argument between her and Morris began in the bedroom and that Morris began strangling her. He then hit her on the head with a pipe and a metal bed frame.

The complaint continues to say the woman tried to protect herself with a knife, but Morris took it from her. A struggle ensued, and the woman’s hand was injured.

The boy was standing behind his mother when Morris drove the knife toward her, the complaint states. The knife missed her and was driven into the boy’s chest.

Documents show that Morris has a previous conviction for domestic assault.