HOUSTON – The wife of a beloved contractor who was murdered while on the job in Harris County is speaking out.
Detectives report that 53-year-old Luis Silva Mendez’s body was found wrapped in a comforter in a driveway on Tim Allen Court last Friday.
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Records indicate he was stabbed multiple times.
The suspect, Steven Eberly, is charged with murder, tampering with evidence, and attempting to take a weapon from an officer.
READ: $2.15M bond set for Harris County man accused of killing contractor after argument
KPRC2 reporter Corley Peel spoke with Silva Mendez’s wife, Orfilia Lopez. Tears streamed down her face as she spoke about her husband.
“He was very loving, very affectionate. I have no words to describe him. He treated me very well, with my children; everything was fine,” she said.
Friday morning was the last time Lopez saw her husband before he left for work at his contracting job at a home off Tim Allen Court.
She recalled, “I just remember that he hugged me tightly and kissed me and said he loved me.”
Later that morning, Lopez received a concerning call from a police officer who had found Silva Mendez’s truck.
“He asked me if I knew Luis Silva, and I said yes, that I was his wife,” she recounted.
Lopez began searching for her husband, checking police stations and hospitals.
“I found out through the news that his body was found,” she said, devastated.
Detectives had already discovered Luis’ body wrapped in a comforter inside a cardboard box in the driveway of the home. Investigators identified Eberly as the suspect, a man believed to be dating the woman who lives at the home. They believe Eberly stabbed Silva multiple times during an argument inside the house.
A neighbor told Corley a strange conversation with Eberly shortly after hearing yelling.
“He started talking about God and that same thing he did a couple of months ago,” the neighbor said. “I’m thinking, well, that’s great. Glad to see you have a job and whatever.”
Eberly left in Silva’s truck and returned with another man, who thought he was helping to move furniture. Surveillance video shows the men moving the cardboard box containing Silva’s body, which appeared heavy as they dropped it. Once the witness realized there was a body inside, he got back into Silva’s truck and drove away.
Eberly attempted to stop him and jumped on the back of the truck, leading to a crash with another vehicle. 911 callers reported a suspicious person, and Eberly was found bleeding as he was taken into custody.
Lopez shared that her husband had never mentioned Eberly and that she did not know him. She explained that her husband had been renovating the bathroom at the home where he was killed for the past 2 ½ weeks. KPRC2 learned the home belongs to Eberly’s girlfriend who was at work at the time of the murder.
Lopez even helped cut the grass at times, but never saw Eberly. Detectives are now trying to determine how her husband’s brutal death occurred and why.
When asked if she had any idea why Eberly would allegedly want to kill her husband, Lopez replied, “I don’t know why he did that to him. I ask myself, what happened there? Only he knows. And God knows what happened.”
The couple shared four young children together. Records show detectives are investigating Eberly’s history of mental illness. He was convicted in 2013 on an aggravated robbery charge.
He is currently held in the Harris County jail on a $2.15 million bond on charges for murder, tampering with evidence and attempting to take an officer’s weapon. He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 18.