A “dorable” Texas politician was stabbed and her husband was murdered at his home early Monday.
Longtime Denton County Commissioner Bobby J. Mitchell and her husband Fred Mitchell were found injured just before 4am inside their Lewisville home, according to the Denton County Sheriff’s Office.
The 76-year-old Republican politician was rushed to the hospital in a stable state, and her husband, 75, was declared dead about an hour after the attack, police said.
Their 23-year-old grandson, Mitchell Blake Rinker, was found at the scene and charged with murder and worsening attacks with a deadly weapon.
According to her government website, Rinker, one of Mitchells’ nine grandchildren, is being held at the Louisville Prison.
The sheriff’s office said deputies were on the scene processing evidence late Monday morning as they continued to investigate the circumstances that led to the attack.
Bobby J. Mitchell previously worked for the Louisville City Council before becoming the city’s first black mayor in 1993.
She resigned as mayor in 2000, successfully served as a county commissioner, and has since represented the county’s three precincts.
“This news will have a major impact on our community,” Rachel Roberts, a spokesman for the Louisville police, told Dallas Morning News in a statement.
“The City of Louisville is united by refusing to violence and continues to be committed to the justice, peace and security of everyone who lives and serves here,” she added.
State Senator Jared Patterson, a Republican who represents nearby Frisco, provided his support to Mitchell, whom he called Denton County’s “most beloved civil servant.”
He prayed to the community to pray for her, “She will try to recover from this attack, mourning the death of her husband, Fred.”
Louisville is a city of about 120,000 people about 25 miles northwest of Dallas.
