Man killed his Lewisville co-worker because she took long breaks, report says
LEWISVILLE, Texas - The man accused of murdering his co-worker inside a Lewisville office building last week was allegedly obsessed and angry about her taking work breaks that he thought were too long, according to an arrest report.
Travis Merrill, 51, was arrested on Thursday after police said he shot and killed Tamhara Collazo at her desk inside Allegiance Trucks.
The business shares a parking lot with the Lewisville Police Department’s temporary headquarters in the 1800 block of Lakeway Drive. So, officers were there within minutes, taking Merrill into custody and trying to save Colllazo’s life.
Unfortunately, she died from injuries at the hospital.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Merrill told detectives in an interview that "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."
After several months of this, Collazo told Merrill to stop watching her on her breaks and reported his behavior to HR. He was ordered to talk to a counselor before he was approved to return to work, the affidavit says.
Merrill told detectives Collazo intentionally avoided him once he returned to work, which fueled his anger even more. So, he started buying guns and practiced with them at home.
He said he brought the guns to work on several occasions but didn’t do anything because it "didn’t feel like the right time."
Merrill admitted to following Collazo out into the parking lot while she took her lunch break on Thursday. He said he watched her sit in her car like usual and went to his vehicle to retrieve two revolvers.
"As she re-entered after lunch, he followed her inside to her cubicle and ‘ambushed’ her, firing the gun several times," the affidavit says.
Police identify suspect after woman shot, killed inside Lewisville office building
A woman is dead, and a man is in custody after a workplace shooting in Lewisville on Thursday.
Police say Collazo was hit five times while she was at her cubicle.
Two-dozen coworkers witnessed the shooting.
Merrill turned himself into police once they arrived. He gave detectives the exact dates that Collazo took breaks and very clear details on how long each one lasted.
He told them 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’s now being held in the Denton County jail on a murder charge.
In a statement, Allegiance Trucks said it was devastated and heartbroken by the tragic loss of a team member who was killed in the Lewisville office.
"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. We ask for the community's support as our company has unfortunately joined the growing national community of workplaces affected by gun violence," the company said.
Travis Lee Merrill (Source: Denton County Jail)
Merill is in the Denton County Jail where his bond is set at $10 million.