Why was Martell DeRouen, Beyoncé’s cousin and aspiring musician, shot to death in his own home?

By all accounts, Martell DeRouen did not use his familial connection to Beyoncé to further his music career, instead opting to make a go of it on his own.

DeRouen, who performed as Kardone, was beginning to get noticed on his own and had been signed by a Sony Music imprint called The Orchard. Unfortunately, he was never able to fully reach his potential because he was gunned down by his troubled girlfriend at the time, Sasha Skare. Read on to learn more about this tragic true crime tale about jealousy and unreached potential.

How was Martell DeRouen related to Beyoncé?

DeRouen was related to Beyoncé through her grandmother Agnes DeRouen. His estranged wife Joia told CBS Austin that DeRouen “never really talked about it, bragged about it, or anything like that” when it came to Beyoncé.

“He said, ‘You know, I know that people other than me would try to use that to get some type of fame. You know, kind of like a latch on type person or a coattail rider is what he would say I’m not, I’m going to make my own way. I want people to know me for me.'”

DeRouen’s friend Brian Mitchell said DeRouen was “a real subtle dude” and that his connection to Beyoncé was “not even something he would even mention to people. … We’d just have to put [that information] in his bios because it’s just, it’s worthy to put it in there, but he doesn’t like stuff like that.”

In his bio on Spotify, DeRouen said he was from San Antonio “by way of Louisiana.” He released his first mixtape Trunk Bang in 2016 and was steadily growing in popularity. KSAT-12 reporter Erica Hernandez told Snapped that the aspiring rapper was “really starting to reach a point in his career where he was starting to get really well-known” and that things were “really starting to take off.”

What were the events that led to Martell DeRouen’s murder?

In late January 2021, DeRouen was shot and killed through his locked door at his residence in The Towers Apartments in San Antonio, Texas. There was a bullet hole through the door near the peephole, which told investigators that the killer knew what they were doing and that they shot to kill.

Despite their separation, DeRouen’s estranged wife Joia said she and her ex remained “best friends.” In fact, DeRouen confided in his ex about his current relationship and its struggles. DeRouen’s ex said he met Skare around 2016 when she was trying to pursue a music career. He told Joia, “‘Oh, she’s interested in music you know I want to help her out'”.

On the night of the murder, Skare and DeRouen had a big fight. Neighbors told police they heard loud arguing and some crashing. When Skare would later take the stand in her own defense, she said that DeRouen picked her up and that they had been drinking and smoking marijuana.

Things took a turn, she said, when she got a phone call from a videographer. She claimed DeRouen didn’t like that she was getting calls from other men so they started arguing.

“He was on the couch. And I was in the kitchen talking,” Skare said in court. “I went to lay down in the bed. I was scrolling on my phone and he came into the room and turned the lights on he just asked me to leave his apartment. He asked me to leave and I just asked him why. We ended up getting into an argument. He was upset because he felt like I was on the phone with another man.”

She said he threw her on the bed and started “hitting me, choking me” and that she couldn’t breathe, so she grabbed DeRouen’s gun as a way to get away from him. She said she started backing away from the bedroom and grabbing dishes and throwing them to make sure he kept his distance.

Once she left, she said, she came back and started banging on the door to get the rest of her stuff. Unfortunately, this is the only account we have of the incident, as DeRouen never had a chance to share his side of the story. Police collected surveillance video from the night in question, and one neighbor even recorded audio to give to the landlord.

Another neighbor’s ring camera recorded the “pop” of the gunshot and showed Skare walking by with a gun in one hand and a cell phone in the other. During their investigation, authorities discovered that Skare was previously part of another crime — a drug deal gone wrong where her then-boyfriend, Andrew Bass was murdered. She was charged with aggravated robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, and she was out on bond during the time of the murder.

In court, prosecutors presented even more damning evidence against Skare in the form of text messages between her and DeRouen. San Antonio police detective Lawrence Saiz described those texts in court. “You see the text messages, he tells her, ‘I had to defend myself. You attacked me, I had to get you out of here. But you need to bring my gun back,’” Saiz said.

KSAT-12 reporter Erica Hernandez summarized the working police theory: the couple got into an argument and DeRouen was maybe ending things and she was upset. She grabbed his handgun and knew when he was standing by the door she could shoot him.

Skare said she was “knocking on the door I just threw the gun up and it shot.” The ol’ ‘the gun shot itself’ defense. Does it ever work? Around 10:45pm, Skare called the police and said she was Martell’s wife. She claimed that her husband was inside and she was worried he was hurt. However, Skare gave her own address instead of DeRouen’s.

With all the overwhelming evidence against her, Skare was offered a plea deal from prosecutors for 20 years in prison. For some reason, she decided to turn it down and testify. When asked why, she told Snapped she was “thinking about her son.”

“And I don’t want to be away from him that long. That was really my main thoughts… so I’m not going to just sign my life away, like I at least want to put up some type of fight.”

Her genius plan shockingly didn’t work. A jury found her guilty and she was sentenced to 55 years in prison: the plea deal plus 25 years. She’ll be eligible for parole in 2048.