Columbia PhD student murdered by his boyfriend in Houston

Devon Wade, 28, was shot in the head by Mario Williams in his Houston home

Devon Wade, 28, was shot in the head by Mario Williams in his Houston home

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

A Columbia PhD student died after being shot in the head by his boyfriend during an argument.

Devon Wade, 28, was shot in his home in Houston, Texas, on Sunday night. His boyfriend, Mario Jerrell Williams, 29, turned himself in shortly after the shooting and admitted to the murder.

Williams, who is now being held on $100,000 bond for first degree murder, reportedly arrived at the home Wade shared with his twin brother, but he was asked to leave.

When Williams returned to the home, an argument broke out. He claimed that Wade chased him downstairs, where Williams shot him.

Wade’s brother found him lying on the ground and bleeding. He had been asleep upstairs during the fight but saw Williams, who told police that he was Wade’s boyfriend, fleeing the scene on security cameras.

It is not immediately clear what the argument between Wade and Williams was about.

Wade was working on a PhD in sociology at Columbia University in New York after graduating from Louisiana State University. He was in Houston to complete his dissertation on poverty and incarceration in the Black community.

Columbia University has since declared that they will be awarding Wade his PhD posthumously.

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