Killer Clown Croaks in Court Avoids 35 Year Sentence for the Murder of His Wife

Former clown and special education teacher James Paul Anderson was set to appear in a Houston court on Friday. He had reached a plea deal in the murder of his wife, Victoria. Anderson was expected to be sentenced to thirty-five years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea, avoiding a life sentence. Instead, the killer clown is lying dead at the coroner’s office, awaiting an autopsy.

Shortly after arriving at the courthouse, Anderson was seen spitting a plastic bag with a brown crystal substance inside into a trash can. He then began to vomit violently. EMS was summoned, and Narcan was administered. Medics transported Anderson, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The courtroom where Anderson was set to be sentenced for his crime had itself become a crime scene in the investigation of his death.

BREAKING: James Paul Anderson, who was accused of killing his wife at their Kingwood home in 2023, died in court this morning before he accepted a plea deal that would have landed him in prison for 35 years.

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— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) September 26, 2025