Sherry Dawson Murdered Over Partner’s $125K Cocaine Swindle, Husband Matthew Jasso Involved, Police Say

Houston, Texas — A Texas woman was shot and killed in a drug deal gone wrong at a northeast Houston storage unit in November after her common-law husband allegedly attempted to defraud a cocaine buyer, authorities said.

Sherry Dawson, 33, was killed on November 5 at a storage facility along the Eastex Freeway. Kip Stitts, a man from Detroit, Michigan, has been charged in connection with her death but remains at large, according to police.

Investigators said Dawson’s husband, Matthew Jasso, acted as a “middleman” in a cocaine transaction, collecting money from buyers to pass to suppliers. Court documents indicate that the month before Dawson’s murder, Jasso introduced Stitts to his supplier for a large cocaine purchase.

Stitts reportedly paid $125,000 for the cocaine, which never arrived. Jasso then returned the money to the supplier, keeping a $10,000 cut. Authorities say Stitts allegedly held a grudge over the lost funds, which may have motivated the attack on Dawson.

Surveillance footage shows Dawson entering the storage unit on the morning of the murder, followed by a pickup truck. The video captures a brief altercation before she was shot.

Jasso told police he knew who was responsible and why. Court records and cellphone data reportedly place Stitts at Dawson’s home, at the storage unit around 10:10 a.m., and then fleeing north to Detroit later that day.

Hours after the murder, police located a vehicle registered to Stitts in Atascocita, Texas, but he was not inside. His phone later pinged in Detroit, confirming he had left the area.

Authorities continue to search for Stitts and urge anyone with information to contact local police immediately.