Uriah Urick Jr and Tara King are two teen killers who were living in Texas when they would murder her Grandmother
According to court documents Uriah Urick Jr and Tara King would plan a robbery for weeks with the target being her Grandmother
The two teens would enter the home, fatally shoot the Grandmother and ransack the home of valuables before fleeing
Uriah Urick Jr and Tara King would be arrested
Uriah Urick Jr would be sentenced to life in prison without parole
Tara King would plead guilty and be sentence to life in prison
Uriah Urick Jr Case
A Galveston County jury on Friday found Uriah Lee Urick Jr., 18, guilty of capital murder in the February killing of his girlfriend’s grandmother, Tammy King, following a week of testimony that revealed text messages, digital evidence, and a detailed plan to rob and kill the 61-year-old woman.
After deliberating for about three and a half hours, the jury of nine women and three men returned the guilty verdict, ending five days of emotional and often graphic testimony. The conviction carries an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors told jurors that Urick and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Tara Lynn King, began plotting the killing weeks before it occurred. Text and Instagram messages shown in court revealed the couple discussing kidnapping, robbing, and killing Tammy King, while pretending to friends that they were victims of her alleged abuse and drug use.
Assistant District Attorneys described a clear progression from fantasy to planning to action — with messages as early as January 26 detailing plans to steal antique coins, cash, methamphetamine, and firearms from safes inside King’s home near Santa Fe.
Evidence showed that Tammy King was shot in the head on Feb. 5, and her body was later discovered under blankets during a welfare check. Safes were found emptied; ammunition boxes marked with the initials of King’s late husband were recovered.
Urick and Tara King fled to Laredo the next day, carrying high-value firearms, antique coins, and roughly $5,400 in cash, prosecutors said. Witnesses testified they boasted about having money and offered guns as barter for rides or lodging. One witness told jurors Urick said he “couldn’t get the smell of burning flesh out of his nose.”
The state argued that the killing was a premeditated robbery motivated by greed, methamphetamine use, and resentment.
“Access is not permission,” prosecutors told the jury, emphasizing that while Tara King lived in the home, she had no lawful right to open safes or take property belonging to her grandmother.
They also pointed to explicit messages exchanged before the murder, including references to testing firearms — “5.56 shred through skin” — and scheduling the attack: “Kill her at 4” and “We ride at dawn.”
After the killing, Urick sent messages describing the event as “the start of the rest of our lives,” prosecutors said.
Defense attorney Bill Agnew acknowledged Urick’s involvement in the killing but argued the state failed to prove robbery occurred concurrently with the homicide, a necessary element of capital murder.
Agnew urged jurors to convict on murder, not capital murder, describing the defendants as “two naïve, drug-influenced teenagers chasing independence, not money.”
Uriah Urick’s access to Tammy King’s home and safes was longstanding and familiar, not part of a robbery, he said.
“This was not a crime of greed,” Agnew said. “It was a misguided attempt to be adults.”
The defense also framed the violent text messages as immature posturing by intoxicated teens with no understanding of consequence.
Jurors sided with the prosecution, concluding that Urick killed Tammy King while robbing her of cash and firearms, meeting the legal threshold for capital murder.
The verdict followed testimony from a cooperating witness, Travis Wayne Hodge, who said he drove Urick and King to Laredo after the killing and dropped them off at the Bethany House homeless shelter. Hodge told jurors Urick offered him $1,000 for the ride and confessed he “couldn’t get the smell of burning flesh” out of his nose during the trip.
Hodge also admitted he later helped investigators locate the murder weapons in a Bacliff storage unit and is serving a 10-year prison sentence for drug and firearm offenses in exchange for his cooperation.
Urick showed little visible reaction as the verdict was read. Tara King, who was 17 at the time of the crime, is awaiting trial.
Bacliff teen found guilty of capital murder; faces life in prison | Local News | The Daily News
Uriah Urick Sentencing
An 18-year-old co-defendant charged and convicted in connection with the death of a 61-year-old woman in Bacliff has been sentenced to life in prison for his role, according to the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office.
A jury found Uriah Urick guilty of capital murder, and he was also sentenced without the possibility of parole.
Back in February, a woman, Tammy King, was found shot to death inside her home in the 4700 block of 15th Street after a concerned neighbor said no one had heard from her.
Officials determined that the woman’s granddaughter, 17-year-old Tara King, and her boyfriend, Uriah Urick, were initially named as “persons of interest” before being upgraded to suspects.
Tara was a student at Dickinson High School and was being raised by her grandmother, officials said.
According to investigators, Tara was upset that Tammy did not allow Uriah Urick to spend the night, possibly leading to the shooting. At least two weapons were recovered from the crime scene that night.
Court records said Tammy’s boyfriend also told investigators that Tammy and Tara had argued about Tara skipping school.
The two teens fled the area, and a manhunt ensued. Soon, capital murder charges were filed against them.
Court documents revealed that the two suspects hitched a ride with a known drug dealer on the day of the murder. Officials said they offered money to multiple people to offer them a ride out of town. The dealer, 35-year-old Hodge, was later arrested and charged with hindering apprehension.
Five days after the murder, the teens were captured in Laredo, Texas.
The trial for Tammy’s granddaughter, Tara, is set for January 2026, according to records.
Tara King Sentencing
The granddaughter convicted of murdering her grandmother back in February 2025 has been sentenced to life in prison, according to prison records.
According to court records, a jury trial did not occur on Monday, Jan. 5, and the suspect, 17-year-old Tara King, was sentenced after pleading guilty.
Tara was convicted of capital murder after her grandmother, 61-year-old Tammy King, was found dead inside her home.
On Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, a welfare check was conducted on Tammy’s home in the 4700 block of 15th Street after a neighbor said she hadn’t talked with Tammy since the previous Tuesday. Once deputies arrived, Tammy was found shot, according to the sheriff’s office.
Later, Tara and her 18-year-old boyfriend, Uriah Urick, were reported missing. Court records said Tammy’s boyfriend also told investigators that Tammy and Tara had argued about Tara skipping school.
Officials said the home was ransacked, and several guns were missing from the home.
A “high-alert” search was conducted for the couple, who eventually changed their hair and tried to solicit help from a known drug dealer. Authorities said the couple also went as far as to offer money to several others to help them drive across state lines.
Tara and Uriah were found in Laredo, Texas, five days later, and both were charged with capital murder.
In November, Uriah was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison; two months later, Tara was sentenced to the same.
