Deputies said the victims were the suspect’s parents and older brother.
TRAVIS COUNTY, TX — A 27-year-old Pflugerville man has been charged with capital murder after deputies found his parents and brother shot to death Thursday morning inside a home near Lake Pflugerville, authorities said.
The case began as a welfare check and quickly became one of the county’s most serious homicide investigations of the year. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office said Joshua Dahan was booked into the Travis County Jail after investigators identified him as a person of interest and detained him in North Austin. Authorities said the deaths appear to be an isolated incident, but the investigation remained active Friday.
Deputies were called at about 8:29 a.m. Thursday to a home in the 17900 block of Civorno Drive after a relative reported that one of the residents had not shown up for work. The home has a Pflugerville mailing address, but officials said it sits outside city limits and falls under the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. When deputies entered the home, they found three adults dead. Authorities later identified them as 62-year-old Armand Dahan, 63-year-old Jami Dahan and 31-year-old Noah Dahan. All three had suffered gunshot wounds, officials said.
Investigators identified Joshua Dahan soon after the bodies were found. His vehicle was located near Norwood Park Boulevard in North Austin, nearly 17 miles from the home, officials said. He was detained without incident at about 11:45 a.m. with help from the U.S. Marshals Service and Austin police. Deputies first described him as a person of interest, then announced that he had been booked into jail Thursday evening on a capital murder charge. The sheriff’s office said Friday that Dahan is accused of killing his parents and his older brother. Officials had not released a motive, a timeline for the shootings or details about the weapon.
The deaths shook a residential area near Lake Pflugerville that neighbors described as quiet and family-centered. Several people told local reporters that children often wait for school buses nearby and residents are used to seeing walkers, runners and people riding bikes through the neighborhood. One neighbor said the street looked normal early Thursday before police arrived later that morning. “Shocking, everybody’s shocked I guess,” the neighbor said. Ana Fantini, who lives nearby, said the area is “very, very friendly” and filled with families and children.
The sheriff’s office said the victims’ identities were withheld at first until the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office completed positive identifications and relatives were notified. By Friday evening, authorities had named the three victims and confirmed their relationship to the suspect. Officials said the case marked the seventh homicide investigation this year in the sheriff’s office jurisdiction. Dahan’s prior Travis County record included a 2024 state-jail felony possession charge that prosecutors did not pursue and a misdemeanor unlawful carry of a weapon case that was later dismissed, according to local court history reported after his arrest.
Capital murder is among the most serious charges under Texas law, and prosecutors may review the case as investigators gather evidence from the home, interview relatives and neighbors and examine records tied to the family. Dahan remained in the Travis County Jail as of Friday evening. Court records available in the first day after the arrest did not show a public explanation of what investigators believe happened inside the home before the welfare check. Authorities also had not said whether Dahan lived at the Civorno Drive address or whether any emergency calls had been made from the home before the relative contacted 911.
The investigation brought deputies, crime scene personnel and assisting agencies to two locations Thursday: the home near Pflugerville and the area near Norwood Park Boulevard where Dahan was detained. Officials said the arrest happened without incident, and they did not report an ongoing threat to the public. The sheriff’s office continued to process the home as a crime scene and said the case remained active. Neighbors said police vehicles and investigators filled the street for hours as word spread that three people had been found dead inside the residence.
As of Saturday, May 9, Joshua Dahan was facing a capital murder charge in the deaths of Armand Dahan, Jami Dahan and Noah Dahan. The next major step is the filing of court documents that could provide more detail about the evidence, timeline and alleged motive.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.