According to Texas officials, a guy suspected of a recent murder was obsessed with the coworker he killed and stated that one of the key reasons for the crime was her “long breaks.”
After reportedly shooting and killing his coworker Tamhara Collazo at her workplace on Thursday, Travis Merrill, 51, was taken into custody. They both worked in Lewisville, about 30 miles north of Dallas, at an Allegiance Trucks office.
Merrill reportedly opened fire on Thursday afternoon when the victim returned from lunch, according to the police. She passed away from her wounds after being taken to a hospital.
“As she re-entered after lunch, he followed her inside to her cubicle and ‘ambushed’ her, firing the gun several times,” according to an affidavit.
Merrill acknowledged becoming “obsessed” with the victim and consumed by her work breaks, according to the court statement. He carefully recorded the days Merrill took breaks and the length of those pauses, according to the suspect.
“[Merrill said he] was obsessed with Collazo and began getting ever increasingly angry by her taking what he considered to be unauthorized long breaks during work hours, as well as not paying any attention to him,” as per the document.
Collazo informed the company’s human resources department about Merrill’s troubling behavior. Prior to going back to work, the suspect was mandated to undergo counseling.
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Merrill further informed police that Collazo became irate and avoided him at work after she had reported him. After that, he purchased firearms and even admitted to police that he had brought them to work multiple times.
The victim, according to Merrill, “caused him pain, and he wanted her to feel pain, so he intentionally planned to shoot her at work with everyone there.”
“The company is providing support to the victim’s family and the rest of our employees who, thankfully, were unharmed, and we have closed our Lewisville office indefinitely. We are also working closely with law enforcement during their ongoing investigation,” Allegiance Trucks stated.
