Texas Man Arrested for Allegedly Strangling Sex Worker Had Recently Completed Solicitation Diversion Program.

Christopher Bernard (Harris County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Deputies investigate scene where Bernard allegedly dumped body of a 29-year-old woman (KRTK/YouTube).

Early in the morning on October 2nd a landscaping crew set out to cut the tall grass in an open field near the 100 block of Subsea Lane just outside Houston. None of the workers on the site that morning had any idea that this day would be unlike any other. Houston police received a call around 8a.m. that morning that the landscapers had found a woman's dead body in a field.

Investigators determined that the woman's body had been there for a number of days and started to review local camera footage from the area. On those surveillance videos they saw a man pull up in a vehicle and dump the woman's, later identified as 29-year-old Cortney Hall, body in the field. They followed that vehicle using traffic cameras and it led them right to their presumed killer.

According to reports, police spoke with the vehicle’s registered owner, 25-year-old Christopher Bernard, who reportedly admitted to picking up the victim as a prostitute. He and the victim then went back to a motel where they had sex, a criminal complaint said. He allegedly claimed Hall tried to take his wallet and keys. Bernard allegedly told police that they fought and he strangled her to death.

He also allegedly admitted to leaving her body in a “place where she wasn’t likely to be found,” cops said.

The sheriff’s Violent Criminals Apprehension Team arrested Bernard Oct. 4 for murder and tampering with a corpse. He was taken to the Harris County Jail where he’s being held on a $400,000 bond. His attorney, Lewis Thomas, told Law&Crime that further investigation will “bring to light” his client’s version of events. He declined to comment beyond that.

Just a few months ago, in April of 2024, Bernard completed a solicitation diversion program. He was arrested in September of 2023 after trying to offer what he thought was a prostitute $40 for sex. As it turns out, that "prostitute" was an undercover police officer. His charges were dismissed after he completed the diverson program.