"She was my daughter, and I loved her. We are just numb." ~Edward Allen, Father of Ashanti
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Quick ExitAshanti Allen, a 23-year-old resident of Houston, Texas, was eight months pregnant with her first child when she disappeared on April 10, 2026. Following an intensive search involving local authorities and Texas EquuSearch, her body was discovered on April 16, 2026, in a wooded area near Chimney Rock Park. Court documents reveal she had been strangled with a cord. Investigative evidence—including apartment surveillance, license plate readers, cell phone tracking, and incriminating text messages/FaceTime calls—quickly linked her boyfriend, 24-year-old Kevin Faux, to the crime. Faux fled to Louisiana on a bus using Allen's debit card but was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Jefferson Parish on April 20, 2026. He faces charges of capital murder and the murder of an unborn child. The case has sparked significant community outrage because Faux had been released from jail less than two months prior due to an early-release time credit after pleading guilty to assaulting Allen in late 2025.
"She was my daughter, and I loved her. We are just numb." ~Edward Allen, Father of Ashanti
Ashanti Allen was a 23-year-old young woman living in Houston, Texas. At the time of her death, she was looking forward to becoming a mother, carrying her first child into her eighth month of pregnancy. She was deeply loved by her family, including her mother and her father, Edward Allen, who described the sudden, violent loss of his daughter as an overwhelming tragedy that left the family entirely numb. Her family remembers her as someone they strove to protect, noting that they were completely unaware of the extent of the danger she faced or the violent past of the man she was dating.
According to investigators, Ashanti Allen was last seen alive on April 8, 2026. Security footage shows Allen and Kevin Faux walking toward her vehicle at her apartment complex at roughly 2:20 a.m. on April 10, 2026. Prosecutors allege that within the next hour, Faux strangled Allen with a cord, tying it twice into knots around her neck. Surveillance from a local business near Chimney Rock Park later captured a man fitting Faux's description dragging a body toward a bayou. At 3:50 a.m., a text message was sent from Allen's phone to her mother falsely claiming she was leaving and not returning, which her family immediately flagged as out of character. Allen's body was recovered from the park grounds six days later, on April 16, 2026.
Following the discovery of Allen's body, the Houston Police Department issued an arrest warrant for Faux. Investigators learned that Faux had fled the state via bus to Louisiana, assisted by an online acquaintance whom he asked not to look up his name, and was actively using the victim's stolen debit card. On April 20, 2026, the U.S. Marshals Service located and arrested Faux in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. He was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on charges of Capital Murder in Harris County's 228th Criminal District Court and is awaiting extradition to Texas. A funeral service honoring the lives of Ashanti Allen and her unborn child was held in Houston on April 26, 2026.
This case illuminates several severe systemic vulnerabilities and classic high-risk indicators associated with intimate partner homicides: • The Danger of Pregnancy: Pregnancy is a statistically verified period of escalation for domestic violence. Allen was eight months pregnant with the suspect's child when she was killed. • Prior History of Domestic Abuse: Faux had been arrested and charged with two separate counts of domestic assault against Allen in September 2025. • Systemic Interventions & Early Release Failures: Despite being a habitual violent offender with a 2019 conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a 2021 assault charge involving a different woman, Faux was granted a plea deal on February 19, 2026. Though sentenced to 280 days, a "two-for-one" conduct/jail-capacity credit applied by the Harris County Sheriff's Office resulted in his immediate release on the day of his plea. Local victim advocates, including Crime Stoppers Houston, heavily criticized this "sweetheart deal," highlighting it as a critical failure where an early-release mechanism compromised victim safety. • Information Barriers for Families: Allen's mother stated she was completely unaware of Faux's history of violence or previous arrests, emphasizing how isolation and hidden court histories frequently prevent family support systems from stepping in before an abuse pattern turns fatal.
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April 20, 2026 - A suspect wanted in the death of a woman found at 11655 Chimney Rock Road about 9 a.m. on April 16 is in custody. The suspect, Kevin Faux, 24, is charged with capital murder in the 228th Criminal District Court. A Jefferson Parish, Louisiana booking photo of Faux is attached to this news release. The victim is identified as Ashanti Allen, 23. HPD Homicide Division Sergeant. R. Watson and Detectives T. Tyler and K. Stringer reported: HPD investigators working a missing person case, with the assistance of Texas Equusearch, discovered a woman's body at the above address. She was later identified as Ashanti Allen. An autopsy will determine Ms. Allen's manner and cause of death. During the investigation, detectives developed Faux as the suspect in the Allen's death. Investigators learned Faux is the father of the victim's unborn child. He was subsequently charged for his role in her death. On April 20, members of the U.S. Marshals Services arrested Faux in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. He is awaiting extradition to Harris County.
Open related materialHOUSTON — A man charged in connection with the death of a 23-year-old pregnant woman has been arrested, according to the U.S. Marshals. Kevin Faux, 24, is charged with capital murder in the death of Ashanti Allen, 23, whose body was found last week. He's also being charged with the murder of his unborn child, according to court records.
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