'Sugar Daddy’ suspect at center of college student's murder probe
Texas authorities tracked down a suspect in the murder of a 21-year-old nursing student after a tipster recognized the accused killer from his profile on a "Sugar Daddy" website.
Muna Pandey, a Nepalese nursing student at Houston Community College, was found dead with gunshot wounds in her Houston apartment on Monday, Aug. 26.
One of her neighbors later told police that they heard a "loud thump" coming from her apartment on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 24, which was also when Pandey was last seen alive by friends and family.
An unknown male allegedly called her building manager to notify him that there was a dead body in her unit, then quickly hung up, according to a criminal complaint obtained by People.
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Two days later, 51-year-old Bobby Singh Shah was arrested and charged with capital murder, the Houston Police Department wrote in a statement.
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Pandey's friend told police that the young woman had previously been stalked, leading to her purchase of a security camera. Ultimately, Pandey's security footage led police to Shah, according to the complaint.
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Security footage from Aug. 24 shows Pandey at her front door with shopping bags when a man – who police now believe is Shah – forcing her into the apartment at gunpoint. An hour later, Shah is allegedly seen leaving the apartment with one of the bags.
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After police released the security footage, Pandey's former employer at an area restaurant called, telling them that the man in the footage resembled Shah, who was a regular patron at his establishment.
On Aug. 28, a woman called to tell Houston Police that she "instantly" recognized the man in the footage as Shah from a "Sugar Daddy" website, according to the complaint.
Shah was apprehended in a traffic stop on Wednesday, Houston Police wrote in their statement. He is being held without bond, according to Harris County District Court records.
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Attorneys listed for him did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
"He's excited to get this case over with so he can prove his innocence," Shah's defense attorney, Wilvin Carter, told KHOU 11.
A GoFundMe initiative has been set up for Pandey's mother to cover her travel from Nepal to Houston and for her only child's funeral expenses.
"No mother should have to face such heartbreak, especially from so far away," reads the fundraiser.