On what began as a seemingly ordinary Monday afternoon in Conroe, Texas, a domestic dispute escalated into a tragic double homicide. Tara Demetri Ricks Hardin, a 57-year-old woman, and her 80-year-old mother, Floris Wolford, were shot and killed in a residence on Shoreview Drive. The incident unfolded around 2 p.m. on March 16, 2026, when Tara Hardin placed a desperate 911 call, reporting that her estranged husband had rammed his truck into the house.
During the chilling 911 call, the
dispatcher could hear the sounds of gunfire, a grim indicator of the violence that was taking place. By the time law enforcement arrived at the scene, both Tara Hardin and her mother had succumbed to their injuries. Investigators believe that Tara had recently separated from her husband and was staying with her mother at the time of the attack.
The suspect in the double homicide was quickly identified as 57-year-old Stanley Earl Hardin, Tara's estranged husband. After the shooting, he reportedly fled the scene and went to a nearby home where his son was. He then asked for a ride to his own residence. Anticipating a potential confrontation, law enforcement had established a perimeter. However, it is believed that after speaking with a family member, Stanley Hardin surrendered to deputies at his home without further incident.
Stanley Earl Hardin was taken into custody and has been charged with capital murder. He is currently being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond. According to officials, Hardin has no prior criminal history. The investigation into the tragic deaths of Tara Hardin and Floris Wolford is ongoing, as the community grapples with the sudden and violent loss of two of its members.
