Lori Susan Perez, a 58-year-old White woman from Longview, Texas, was a mother whose life was tragically cut short in February 2019. A memorial service was later held for her at the First United Pentecostal Church, where family and friends gathered to remember her.
In the early morning hours of February 19, 2019, Longview police officers responded to a report of a shooting at a residence in the 1700 block of Loring Lane.
When they arrived around 12:38 a.m., they discovered a horrific scene inside the home. Lori and her 38-year-old daughter, Kristy Nicole Perez, had both been shot to death. The Gregg County District Attorney’s Office later confirmed that minors were inside the house at the time of the murders. Investigators stated early on that they believed domestic violence may have been a factor in the killings.
With the help of witnesses at the scene, police were able to quickly identify a suspect. They located Troy James Rider Jr., then 43, at a local apartment complex and took him into custody. Rider, who was also from Longview, was arrested and charged with capital murder for the deaths of the two women.
The case proceeded through the legal system for more than seven years, with Rider remaining in the Gregg County Jail on a $2 million bond. It was revealed that Rider was Kristy Perez’s ex-boyfriend and that she had received an injunction against him just weeks before she and her mother were killed. The Texas Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case and sought the death penalty.
As the trial was set to begin in April 2026, the case took an unexpected turn. Rider’s defense attorney stated that "evidentiary issues" had arisen that "changed the entire perspective of this case." On April 28, 2026, Troy James Rider Jr. pleaded guilty to capital murder. A judge accepted his plea and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, bringing the case to a close in April 2026.
