Valerie Junius was planning to leave Lawrence Reed, who has now been charged with her murder, according to Harris County Sheriffs. The mother of six was killed  on July 29 and found inside her home.

Officers responding to the shooting discovered Reed barricaded inside, but he later surrendered to SWAT. According to People magazine, the couple had been going through an ongoing domestic disturbance, and Junnius had been in Chicago for a month with relatives.

“My Auntie, Gloria, was on the phone with her daughter, Valerie, while she could overhear her husband, Lawrence Reed, telling Valerie that he was going to kill her and her kids,” the organizer of a GoFundMe fundraiser writes. “Gloria then had the horrific experience of having to hear Lawrence shoot her daughter Valerie a total of 7 times, ultimately taking her life.”

The page has been created to raise money  for homegoing services and support for Junius’ mother, who is left to raise her six grandchildren.

“Please pray for Valerie in heaven, her children left here on Earth, along with her mother, Gloria,” the GoFundMe page also states. According to reports, Reed shot at Junius’ 16-year-old son and 20-year-old daughter as they attempted to leave the home. Both were wounded with non-life-threatening injuries.

ABC 13  reports that Junius was planning to leave her husband. The mother of six had only returned home to Texas to get her personal belongings.

“She didn’t know she was walking into this,” her cousin, Treshawnda Junius said.

“He knew it was over when she stayed in Chicago for as long as she stayed,” she said. “He knew it was over. He killed her. He didn’t give her a chance.”

Harris County Sheriff’s have reported higher cases in domestic violence and fatal domestic shootings in 2021.

“It’s alarming. It’s disturbing,” Barbie Brashear, executive director of the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council said. “It matches what we are hearing nationally, that domestic violence is on the rise.”