Houston Surgeon Killed in Murder-Suicide by Her Husband

Dr. Sherilyn Gordon Burroughs was killed in her Richmond, Texas home by her husband, according to police. Gordon-Burroughs was 48.

Police arrived at the Burroughs home after a family member requested a welfare check because they could not reach her.

Daniel Burroughs, 60, answered the door, and when his wife could not be located, a five-hour long standoff with SWAT commenced. At its conclusion, SWAT entered the home and found Gordon-Burroughs dead in an upstairs bedroom. Burroughs killed himself with a shotgun shortly after.

The couple has a four-year-old daughter, Jasmine, who is now in the care of grandparents.
Dr. Gordon-Burroughs was a transplant surgeon and director of the general surgery training program at Houston Methodist Hospital. In the field, she is an anomaly. Black women account for 2% of medical doctors in the United States, and a only fraction of those are surgeons.

Black women are four times more likely than white women to be murdered by an intimate partner, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Learn more about Dr. Gordon-Burroughs life and legacy at the Houston Chronicle.