Houston man charged with capital murder

Allegedly killed Columbus woman to stop her from testifying

A Houston man has been hit with a capital murder charge after being accused of killing his girlfriend, a Columbus woman, who mysteriously vanished in January 2022 just weeks before she was set to testify against him.

Authorities “have good reason to believe” that 40-year-old John Alberto Roman is the man behind the sudden disappearance of his girlfriend at the time, 19-year-old Bre’Andrea Wiley, three years ago on Jan. 12, 2022, allegedly killing Wiley in an attempt to silence her before taking the stand against him in an aggravated robbery case stemming from October 2020.

Roman and Wiley had been involved in a sexual relationship since 2018, when Wiley was around 16 and Roman was in his early 30s. According to a prior investigation conducted by Columbus P.D. regarding the aggravated robbery, Roman had Wiley meet up with Craig Wilson on Oct. 16, 2020, leading Wilson to believe the two were going to have a sexual encounter only for Roman to rob him.

In a sworn statement provided to Columbus P.D., Wiley told law enforcement officials that Roman devised the plan and threatened her not to speak to the police when questioned about the incident.

Nevertheless, Roman was found guilty in that case and sentenced to 99-years in jail in September 2022.

The alleged murder connection was made given that Wiley’s last whereabouts were with Roman on that fateful day on Jan. 12, 2022, having been seen for the final time alive at 4:56 p.m. by her Jeep that evening captured by camera footage from the apartment complex. Her last known interaction with anyone aside from Roman was a phone call conversation she had with her brother Ruebin Wiley Jr., about 30 minutes prior at 4:20 p.m.

Throughout the period following her disappearance, investigative records show that Roman used multiple vehicles and even rented a car despite owning his own vehicles, noting a strong odor of bleach in the same Jeep driven the day of Wiley’s disappearance. Despite having still not found Wiley’s body, enough evidence was presented to pursue a capital murder charge, including cell phone records, inconsistent statements from Roman and even blood found in the rental vehicle.

“Affiant believes that the defendant killed Bre’Andrea Wiley on or about Jan. 12, 2022 in Houston, Harris County,” said a court document remarking Detective Sergeant R. M. Watson’s findings. “And that the defendant committed the felony offense of capital murder because his primary motive to kill Bre’Andrea was to make her unavailable to testify, as a witness or potential witness, against him in his impending criminal court case in Colorado County.”