By KEN CARPENTER
Great Bend Post
Memorial services have been planned for July 10 for two former Hoisington residents who were murdered in Houston on June 20. Rita Joanne Lillard, 64, and her daughter Virginia Lillian Lillard, 39, died in what Houston police are calling an incident of domestic violence. Lewis Trinidad Nunez, 46, has been charged as a suspect in the case.
Houston Assistant Police Chief Yasar Bashir said police officers were called to a Houston apartment following a report of a domestic disturbance. When they arrived, they saw Rita Lillard approach the apartment where she was shot at close range at the front door. The suspect then fired shots at officers after he was ordered to drop his weapon. Officers returned fire striking the suspect. A SWAT team was called after the man barricaded himself in the apartment. He later surrendered and was taken into custody.
Officers discovered that Rita Lillard had died from the gunshot wounds she sustained while she approached the apartment. They found the body of her daughter, Virginia Lillard, inside the apartment. The suspect was transported to a hospital for treatment.
At a press conference on the day of the murders, Assistant Chief Bashir described Nunez’s relationship with the Lillards.
“We have two victims,” Bashir said. “That was the suspect’s girlfriend and also the suspect’s girlfriend’s mom as well.”
The case is still under investigation by the Houston Police Department.
Rita Lillard was raised in Hoisington and earned her nursing degree at Barton Community College. She later worked as a registered nurse.
Virginia Lillard, known as “Jenni,” was born in Great Bend and grew up in Hoisington until the family moved to Houston.