Argument Over Dog Ends in Shooting Death

A neighborhood argument over a dog getting into the yard of 70 year old Eric Lee Elliott resulted in the shooting death of 60 year old William Duncan Womack on CR 2683 in north Liberty County at approximately 2:45 pm on Friday evening. This appears to have been the culmination of an on-going neighborhood dispute between these two men and the dog running loose in the neighborhood.

Liberty County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Bentley responded to the shooting call and found Womack shot one time in the stomach with a .45 caliber handgun while Elliott was tending to his yard work. Womack was transported by Life Flight to a Kingwood Hospital where he was later declared deceased.
According to Deputy Bentley’s investigation, it appears that Elliott was working in his yard when Womack’s dog got onto Elliott’s yard. When Elliott saw Womack’s step-daughter, he told her that if they did not keep their dog out of his yard that he was going to kill the dog.

When the step-daughter told Womack about the threat to their family dog, Womack walked into the street to talk to Elliott but, according to witnesses, when the two men met in the street, Elliott kicked Womack in the leg and then pulled a hand gun from his waist and shot Womack one time in the stomach. Again, according to witnesses, while Womack’s wife and step-daughter were screaming and trying to call for help, Elliott put the hand-gun in his truck and continued with his yard work as if nothing had ever happened.

Deputy Bentley placed Eric Lee Elliott under arrest and assured medical treatment for William Womack but to no avail. Eric Elliott was placed in the county jail and charged with murder.