Dallas police are looking for a man who allegedly posed as his murdered neighbor and sold his house for $130,000.
Christopher Colbert, a former Dallas newspaper photographer, became a subject of interest after police discovered his neighbor, Ronald Shumway’s concrete-encased body in the backyard of the home he owned for 30 more than years.
Image source: NBCDFW-TV
There are three warrants out for Colbert’s arrest, NBCDFW-TV reported.
Police aren’t pursuing Colbert as murderer — at least, not yet. Detectives have, however, called Colbert an “imposter” for posing as Shumway, and they believe he knows what happened to his next-door neighbor.
"I would hope [detectives] figure it out, come to a conclusion and catch the guy. That would be best for the whole neighborhood," Gregory Damman, a man who lives a few houses away from the residence, told NBCDFW-TV.
According to NBCDFW-TV, Colbert used to work as a photographer for the Dallas Voice newspaper. Shumway was a DART bus driver.
Multiple neighbors told NBCDFW-TV that Colbert moved in to the duplex in the fall of 2014. Shumway was last seen in April 2015.
Police say Christopher Colbert forged signatures on closing documents and provided the title company with a doctored driver’s license photo, which featured his own photo superimposed over his dead landlord's original license.
(Image source: NBCDFW-TV)
Five months after Shumway’s murder, the man who bought the house was shocked to discover the late homeowner’s body encased in a concrete slab near the backyard.
Colbert has been charged with money laundering, tampering with government records and deception. Each felony has a $100,000 bond. He not been charged with any violent crime.
Police said Colbert used Shumway’s debit card last summer to make nearly $40,000 in purchases.
According to police, Colbert forged signatures on closing documents and provided the title company with a doctored driver’s license photo, which featured his own photo superimposed over his dead landlord's original license.
"The story gets deeper," Damman said. "It’s a little unnerving, that all this basically happened in my backyard."
"Especially to be buried in your own yard, with the house being flipped and documents forged. Somebody went through a lot of trouble," Damman said.
Watch:
(H/T: NBCDFW-TV)
