HOUSTON — Renard Spivey was acquitted in November 2023 of murdering his wife Patricia, who was fatally shot in their Houston home on July 28, 2019. The jury returned a not guilty verdict after 12 hours of deliberations over two days.

Patricia Spivey, 52, was found dead in a closet in the early morning hours of July 28, 2019, with multiple gunshot wounds. The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide, with the fatal shot piercing her lungs and heart. Renard Spivey, 63, was found at the scene with a gunshot wound in his leg.

Spivey, a former Texas sheriff's deputy, told first responders that he and his wife were arguing and tussling over his gun when it fired. He testified that the incident began on the evening of July 27 when Patricia confronted him about whether he was having an affair. "I told her no, that's crazy," Spivey said.

According to Spivey, Patricia later fell asleep, and he took her phone into a closet. Moments afterward, he said she appeared in the doorway holding his gun and demanding her phone back. "And then when I turned around and saw her finger on the trigger, I was scared for my life," he said.

Spivey called 911, saying, "Shots fired," and performed chest compressions as directed by the operator. He said Patricia was still breathing after the shooting. At the hospital, Spivey refused to speak to detectives, saying his union representative, who was an attorney, advised against it. His bail was set at $50,000, and he was barred from attending Patricia’s funeral.

Spivey testified in his own defense, stating, "I was instructed by my — my attorneys to do so, because if I didn't, it felt like I was, you know, guilty of something, trying to hide something, which I wasn't." His defense team, led by attorney Dick DeGuerin, emphasized the gun had no external safety. "There is no external safety on this gun," DeGuerin said. "So, if someone's finger is on that trigger, all it takes is a slight pressure and it goes off."

Former prosecutor Lisa Andrews questioned whether the shooting could have been accidental. "The multiple shots is definitely what gives everyone a lot of pause as to why it's not an accident," she said.