A Texas man admitted to murdering his coworker in her cubicle because she was "not paying any attention" to him and he was "obsessed with her" over what he deemed "unauthorized long breaks."
While Travis Merrill prepared his guns inside his vehicle, he watched his coworker, Tamhara Collazo, taking her lunch break, according to WFAA. When Collazo returned to her cubicle at Allegiance Trucking in Lewisville, Texas, Merrill "ambushed" and shot her five times inside her cubicle on Oct. 17.
Collazo was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died from her injuries.
Merrill allegedly told police he was "obsessed with Collazo and became increasingly angry" over what he said were "unauthorized long breaks." Merrill was also angry she was "not paying any attention" to him, according to a police affidavit obtained by WFAA.
The 51-year-old Texas man allegedly started planning his fatal attack after Collazo reported his behavior and asked her employer, Allegiance Trucking, to stop allowing him to track her breaks.
Merrill told police he talked to a counselor before he returned to work, but he could tell Collazo was avoiding him and all of his colleagues "must think he's a psychopath," both of which further enraged him.
He started buying guns because Collazo "had caused him pain, and he wanted her to feel pain, so he intentionally planned to shoot her at work with everyone there," he told police, according to WFAA.
Merrill is being held on a murder charge at Denton County Jail, per Fox 4, and his bail was set at $10 million.
Originally published by Latin Times.
