An 84-year-old Texas man has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly killing his roommate and her dog, authorities said.
Police in Austin, Texas responded to a deceased person call at a home in the city’s University Hills area on Monday afternoon, according to a news release from the department. Austin Police Department officers found a dead woman and dog inside the home. The woman was later identified as Linda Mlsna, 83, the department said.
APD detective Israel Pina described the scene as a “very, very brutal attack,” according to CBS affiliate CBS Austin. It’s the 63rd homicide in the city this year, police said.
While investigating Mlsna’s death, homicide detectives found that her roommate was unaccounted for. Jack Moore was a mutual friend of Mlsna’s son, CBS Austin reported, and had stayed on as a roommate when Mlsna’s son moved away. Lupita Diaz, a neighbor who lived across the street from the home, told CBS Austin that Mlsna had begun having issues living with Moore.
“It was probably like a month ago that she told me she didn’t feel comfortable with him around,” Diaz said.
The APD’s Tactical Intelligence Unit and the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force arrested Moore on an unrelated warrant related to carjacking, CBS Austin reported. Investigators found that Moore had been using Mlsna’s credit cards to make purchases after her death.
Moore confessed to killing Mlsna and her dog, taking the credit cards and formulating a plan to flee the country during an interview with detectives, the APD said.
Moore was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder and booked into the Travis County Jail. He is being held on $1 million bail, CBS Austin reported. The station also reported Moore has a criminal history and has served prison time, but police told the affiliate that there had been no domestic violence-related calls to Mlsna’s home.
“We shouldn’t underestimate anyone. He’s 84 years old,” said Pina. “But you just can’t predict who is dangerous and who is not. It is disturbing that you never know, when you have someone living with you, who you’re actually bringing in unless you thoroughly vet them, or you’ve known them your entire life.”
