Texas Man Sentenced to 23 Years for Stalking and Murder of Ex’s New Boyfriend

This week, a court in Harris County, Texas sentenced Austin Hoff, a 29-year-old man, to 23 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, Steven Senter. The fatal incident occurred in 2016 in the Houston area.

Hoff and his ex had been in a romantic relationship prior, but Hoff had been unfaithful, which eventually led to their breakup. In the months that followed, Hoff began to stalk and harass his ex-girlfriend.

On September 5th, Hoff was waiting outside of his ex’s house when she arrived with her new partner, Senter. Hoff attempted to barge his way inside the house and a struggle ensued. During that altercation, Hoff fired a shot into Senter’s chest, killing him. The assailant then took off his shirt and drove back to Austin, Texas.

His father urged Hoff to come home so he could face the consequences of his act, and authorities managed to track down his shirt and gun, both covered in Senter’s blood. The 23-year sentence Hoff was given was “apparently as tribute to the age Senter was when he was killed,” according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

Ogg further expressed that gruesome cases like this are the ones responsible for taking stalking and intimate partner violence so seriously. In her words, “We will not tolerate this kind of violence in Harris County.”