Corey Campbell, Darlene Solis (Harris County DA’s Office)
A job-hunting construction worker convicted of shooting his ex-girlfriend four times in 2020 after she took him in has been sentenced to spend the next four decades behind Texas prison walls.
Corey Lewis Campbell, 34, ran home from Houston, Texas, to his mother in North Carolina after murdering 33-year-old Darlene Solis on April 28, 2020 for “absolutely no reason,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said after Monday’s sentencing put the defendant behind bars.
Prosecutors said that Campbell moved from N.C. to Texas in 2016 to work in construction. After that point, he and Solis were described as dating “on and off for about three years.” In 2020, when they were no longer dating, Solis decided to help Campbell out while her ex figured out what he was going to do for work next. Solis was in a dating relationship with another man at the time, but she took Campbell in and let him stay at the West Little York apartment where he murdered her.
On the day of the murder, the suspect and victim were alone at the apartment, prosecutors said. Campbell opened fire with a pistol four times, killing Solis, and left the murder weapon under a bed, according to the DA’s office. After that, the killer ran home to his mom.
“When he reached that state,” prosecutors said, “he left the car in a Wal-Mart parking lot and had his mother pick him up.”
After Darlene Solis’ family didn’t hear from her for the next two days, prosecutors said, her mother Judy called up her ex-husband — Darlene’s stepfather — and asked him to check on her daughter. The stepfather was working that day as a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. He was the one who made the grisly discovery at the apartment of their loved one’s murder. The deputy called 911.
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An obituary from 2020 said that Solis was “full of life, very humble and always making everyone laugh with her vibrant personality.”
“She was loved by her large extended family and many friends from all over. She was an adventurous young lady; her passion was the sea and her love to travel to see the world. She was a hard worker and was dedicated to her job,” Solis’ family said. “Outside work her priorities was spending time with her beloved family and close friends. She had an amazing personality that brightened the room with her beautiful smile.”
Darlene was sister to three brothers, each of whom served as pallbearers at her funeral. One of her brothers, Sgt. Jose Vallejo III, is an active member of the U.S. Army. Prosecutors said that Solis’ military member sibling attended Campbell’s two-week trial before having to return to the Army. His victim impact statement, a letter, was read in court. Numerous other family members attended the trial from beginning to end.
“We stand with the family and mourn for this vibrant young woman who was cut down in her prime for absolutely no reason,” DA Ogg said in a statement. “Far too often, domestic violence leads to gun violence, and it is just senseless.”
Assistant District Attorney Ryan McLearen said that Campbell killed Solis “in cold blood and then ran off.”
“He took a daughter, he took a sister, he took an aunt, and the jury handed down the right sentence,” the prosecutor said.
Though Campbell was sentenced to serve 40 years behind bars, he will be eligible for parole after 20 years, according to the DA.
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