A Texas man has allegedly admitted to killing his coworker who “caused him pain” for not paying “any attention” to him, authorities said.
51-year-old Travis Lee Merrill surrendered to police on Thursday, just after he ambushed and shot Tamhara Collazo dead at her workplace in Allegiance Trucking in Denton County, Texas.
Collazo was shot twice in her arm, twice in her chest, and once in the leg inside her cubicle.
“He was obsessed with Collazo and began getting every 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,” the affidavit read.
Merrill told detectives that Collazo complained to management leading to his temporary suspension.
After speaking with a counselor, he returned to work but felt that “everyone must think he’s a psychopath.”
Merrill admitted to purchasing firearms and practicing his hands' motions to carry out the murder.
He reportedly told investigators that Collazo “had caused him pain, and he wanted her to feel pain, so he intentionally planned to shoot her at work with everyone there.”
The alleged killer ambushed Collazo with a barrage of bullets after she returned to work from her lunch break.
He was arrested at the scene and charged with one count of first-degree murder.
