Tragic news in the extended Osteen family today ...

Murdered woman identified as Joel Osteen's great aunt

An elderly woman who was beaten to death with a hammer inside her East Harris County home was related to Lakewood Church's Osteen family.

Deputies in East Harris County investigate the murder of an 84-year-old woman.

Dodie Osteen, who founded the church along with her late husband John, said 84-year-old Johnnie Daniels was her aunt and the great aunt of her son, Joel Osteen.

"Aunt Johnnie was a kind and generous woman who lived her life in mercy, compassion, and deep love for the Lord," said Dodie Osteen. "She was dearly loved by me and my family and will be missed greatly," added Osteen.

Investigators believe that generous nature may have cost her her life.

"She would let people into the house. She would give people money and that," said Lt. John Denholm.

Daniels' body was found Thursday in her home in the 13200 block of Forest Knoll.

Her neighbors watched out for her, but they hadn’t seen her in a couple of days so they decided to check on her.

"It's hard to believe," said Vicky Racard, a neighbor in the Royal Wood subdivision. "I've lived in Royal Wood for 10 years and nothing like this has ever happened."

Neighbors said they didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary Wednesday or Thursday when they were looking at the outside of the house. They didn’t discover anything until they went in.

Schepps Dairy is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person(s) who murdered Johnnie Daniels.

Anyone with information should call the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Division at 713-967-5810 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.