A River Oaks home where socialite Doris Angleton was shot 13 times on April 16, 1997, in a killing that exposed an elaborate murder-for-hire plot by her husband
3031 Ella Lee Lane, Houston, TX 77019
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Public street drive-by only. This is a private residential address; do not approach or enter the property.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved residential street; exterior viewing only from the road.
Equipment
Photos OK
April 16, 1997: Doris Angleton shot 13 times at this address · Robert Angleton — prominent Houston bookie — acquitted of capital murder despite contract-killing prosecution theory · Roger Angleton convicted of murder; died in prison 2000 · Covered by Texas Monthly as one of Houston's most sensational modern true-crime cases
Doris Angleton was a prominent figure in Houston's social circuit in the 1990s. She and her husband Robert Angleton — a high-profile bookmaker who ran one of Houston's largest illegal gambling operations — lived in a substantial home in River Oaks, the city's most exclusive neighborhood. By the mid-1990s the marriage had deteriorated into bitter divorce proceedings, with Doris reportedly planning to expose Robert's finances as part of the settlement.
On April 16, 1997, Doris was shot thirteen times inside the house at 3031 Ella Lee Lane. She died at the scene. Investigators focused on Robert Angleton and, eventually, on his brother Roger, whom prosecutors alleged Robert had hired to carry out the killing. Roger was apprehended and convicted of murder; he died in Texas prison in 2000.
The case against Robert Angleton moved more slowly and became considerably more complicated. Texas Monthly covered the case extensively, describing the layers of the Angleton family's financial and criminal networks and the difficulty of proving the conspiracy to a jury. Robert was acquitted of capital murder at trial despite substantial circumstantial evidence. He later moved to California, where he faced separate federal charges.
The murder and its aftermath were covered by Texas Monthly, the Houston Chronicle, and national outlets. The case has been included in Houston Historical Tours' haunted and dark-history driving-tour itineraries. The home at 3031 Ella Lee Lane remains a private residence.
Sources
The Doris Angleton murder house occupies a particular position in Houston true crime geography: a killing that happened in River Oaks, a neighborhood not typically associated with crime, in a social stratum that magnified the scandal's reach. The combination of the wealth, the bookmaking operation, the alleged family contract-killing, and the acquittal gave the case enough complexity to sustain coverage well past the trial.
Houston Historical Tours includes 3031 Ella Lee Lane on its haunted and dark-history driving tour, which is the primary mechanism by which the property is presented to dark-tourism visitors. The tour framing situates the site within a broader pattern of Houston violence rather than making specific paranormal claims about the house itself.
Because the property is a private residence, no paranormal investigators have documented on-site work there. The site's status as a dark tourism point of interest rests on the documented murder and trial record rather than on reported haunting phenomena.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The home at 3031 Ella Lee Lane in River Oaks is where Doris Angleton was shot and killed on April 16, 1997. The property is private and occupied; viewing is from the public street only. The Houston Historical Tours haunted driving tour includes this address.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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