99 year murder sentence for man who shot girlfriend 8 times at home on Bolivar Peninsula

Galveston County — A judge has sentenced a Galveston County man to 99 years in prison for murdering his girlfriend by shooting her eight times at her her home in Gilchrist on the Bolivar Peninsula, according to the Galveston County District Attorney's Office.

The victim, 45-year-old Tina Kelley, was a popular employee at a Crystal Beach restaurant.

The jury decided on the punishment Wednesday in the trial of Raymond Bernard Borden Jr. of Galveston. He also received 10 years for Driving While Intoxicated, after he was stopped in the victim's pickup truck and tested more than three times the legal limit for blood-alcohol content, according to the Galveston County District Attorney's Office.

The investigation began early on Sunday morning, May 21, 2023, when Galveston County Sheriff’s deputies were flagged down by a citizen who told deputies she had just been rear ended by a man in a maroon Dodge dually who fled the scene. Deputies were able to find and track down the dually and identified Borden as the driver. After completing a driving while intoxicated investigation, Borden was arrested and charged with DWI third or more. Deputies also discovered a purse and wallet in the truck, which was registered to Tina Kelley.

Five days later, other deputies conducted a welfare check on Kelley, after a request from her daughter. Deputies found Kelley in her home, dead, with several gunshot wounds. Sheriff’s detectives discovered Kelley’s truck was missing from her home and learned Borden had recently been arrested while driving it. Further investigation revealed Borden had a spent shell casing in his pants pocket and blood from the victim on his shoes, as well as on the money in his pocket, when he was booked into jail for his DWI arrest. The murder weapon was also found in the vehicle Borden was driving when arrested.

Borden pled guilty and the trial for punishment began Monday. Chief Assistant District Attorney Ricque Davis and Assistant District Attorney Brianna Stark presented evidence Borden’s blood-alcohol concentration when he was arrested, just hours after the murder, was 0.314, more than 3 times the legal limit. The evidence showed Kelley had been shot eight times for no apparent reason. Borden testified he has been a daily drinker for years and had no recollection of what happened that night. Wednesday afternoon, the jury returned its verdict of guilty for murder and for Driving While Intoxicated, Third or More.

In closing arguments, Davis told the jury Borden earned himself every day of a life sentence when he murdered Kelley so brutally and senselessly. The jury returned a verdict of 99 years in prison for the murder and 10 years for the DWI 3rd after deliberating for less than an hour.

The Galveston County Criminal District Attorney’s Office commends the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office for its work in the case.

Tina Kelley was a popular employee at Jose's Cantina in Crystal Beach, where she had worked for about six months at the time of her murder.