One man has been charged over a month after a body found in southeast Houston was positively identified as a mother of five who had been missing for two weeks.
James Campbell, 57, is charged with tampering/fabricating physical evidence in connection to 43-year-old Leslie Obi’s death.
Reporters spoke to Campbell last month at his apartment on Scott Street, which is about seven miles away from where Obi was last seen.
Campbell told reporters he knew Obi from his first job and admitted to helping another man, who he claims killed Obi, move her body out of his apartment and clean up.
Obi was reported missing by family members on Jan. 12. She was last seen around 8 a.m. on Jan. 11 near Charleston Park Drive and Highway 90 in southwest Houston.
Further investigation indicated that Obi was killed inside Campbell’s apartment on Scott Street, according to police. Investigators said he tampered with Obi’s body following her death and had it discarded.
On Jan. 18, a body was discovered in the woods at Cullen Boulevard and Wilmington Street. Police said park employees were canvassing the area for a remodeling job when they came across the body.
The body was positively identified as that of Obi on Jan. 25. Autopsy results revealed she had suffered trauma to her body, and the medical examiner’s office ruled her death a homicide.
Campbell was arrested on Monday, Feb. 27, without incident, according to HPD. Although Campbell has been charged with tampering, still, no one is charged with Obi’s murder.
According to court documents, Campbell admitted to moving the body of a deceased female from his apartment without notifying authorities. He’s scheduled to appear in probable cause court on Tuesday.
Anyone with additional information on the suspect(s) in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.