True Crime
Beaumont police charged Patrick Brouchet with murder in the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, Kandace Washington.
KFDM and 12News reported that Brouchet, 65, told a reporter on his walk to a patrol car early Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, that the shooting on North 10th Street was an accident. A probable cause affidavit KFDM obtained says his accounts were inconsistent with the scene. A magistrate set bond at $1 million.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
The case already has two versions of the same few seconds, and both come from Brouchet. According to the affidavit, he first said he thought someone was breaking in, then said he saw Washington walk in and close the door, argued with her, and that the gun he was holding just went off. Police point to an undamaged door, a key in her possession, no weapon near her, and a wound to the back of her head. Whether the gun was fired knowingly is the question a jury would decide. His remarks on the police steps are not a confession to murder, and police statements are not proof of it.
Patrick Brouchet, 65, is charged with murder in the shooting death of Kandace Washington, 32, the Beaumont Police Department said, as reported by KFDM and 12News. Police said officers were called at about 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, to a report of a shooting victim in the 2500 block of North 10th Street. Washington was dead at the scene. Brouchet was arrested there, questioned at police headquarters, and booked into the Jefferson County Correctional Facility.
KFDM reported that as detectives walked Brouchet to a patrol car at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, he told the station, "My deepest sympathy goes out to the family," said he and Washington had been "involved in a relationship," and said, "I'm deeply sorry this accident happened." When asked how it was an accident, he said he wanted to speak with his attorney. Asked whether he would take it back if he could, he said, "I'd take everything back."
According to a probable cause affidavit KFDM obtained, the caller said he had shot his girlfriend in the head. The affidavit says Brouchet first told officers that Washington, who had a key and sometimes stayed at the house, came in and that he thought someone was trying to break in. It says he later said the two were not supposed to be around each other, that he saw her walk in and close the door, that he told her to leave, and that the gun in his hand "just went off." Officers wrote that there was no damage to the door, that Washington had a key on her, that she had no weapon on or near her, and that she had a gunshot wound to the back of her head. The affidavit says detectives concluded Brouchet intentionally and knowingly caused her death and that he declined to talk further with them.
KFDM reported that Magistrate Marc DeRouen set bond Sunday morning at $1 million, with conditions that include home confinement and a GPS monitor if he is released. Murder in Texas carries up to life in prison. Police asked anyone with information to call the Beaumont Police Department at (409) 832-1234 or Southeast Texas Crime Stoppers at (409) 833-8477. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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