HEMPSTEAD MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR MURDER

  

A Hempstead man will be spending the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of Murder by a Brazos County jury.

23-year-old Tarod London was found guilty of killing his former girlfriend, 18-year-old Roshainah Tompkins.

On July 25, 2021, College State Police were dispatched to the Crescent Pointe Apartments for a welfare concern after neighbors saw a trail of blood leading to the defendant’s apartment.

Officers breached the locked door, and found the body of Tompkins just inside the apartment with a gunshot wound to the head.  London was not at the scene.

Investigators set up surveillance at London’s permanent address in Hempstead, and around 1:15am on the morning of July 26, 2021, saw his car parked outside the address.

As officers approached the vehicle, London sped off with no headlights on, and evaded arrest at a high rate of speed.  

His car was located later that day in a hotel parking lot in Brenham, along with an AR-15 rifle owned by the defendant near the driver’s seat.

Prosecutors presented a timeline of London’s movements using traffic camera footage and cell tower data from his phone to show that he had driven with the victim’s body in his car before disposing of it in his apartment.

The jury also heard how London attempted to take a Texas Ranger’s service weapon and escape from custody.

London testified on his own behalf, and claimed self-defense.  The claim was rejected by the jury.