Suspect charged after man killed over UNO card game

BAYTOWN, Texas (KTRK) - A 27-year-old Texas man accused of punching a man during a game of UNO is now charged with manslaughter.

Andrew Placencia was arrested last week more than five months after the New Year’s party where the fight broke out among family friends over a card game.

Placencia is accused of causing Wayland Hood’s death.

“He was the love of my life. He really was,” his wife Kelly Hood said.

Kelly Hood says they were celebrating with family friends when a fight started during a game of UNO. Her husband broke it up, angering Placencia’s brother who reportedly said, “If you don’t take care of that, we aren’t family.”

“All of a sudden, A.J. came and hit him out of the blue. Wayland didn’t see it. He got hit in the eye, and he went down,” Kelly Hood said.

The medical examiner ruled Wayland Hood’s death a homicide, leading to Placencia’s arrest on Thursday.

Wendell Hood, Wayland Hood’s brother, said their family does not hate their former friends, but they do hate what happened.

“I hope he realizes what he did to us. He took away a brother. He took away a husband. He took away a grandfather. He took away a friend,” Kelly Hood said.

Placencia is due back in court on Monday.

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