'An easy target': Man bullied co-worker with speech impediment before gunning him down after their shift, police and family say

A Texas antheral is down bars aft confessing to shooting and killing a co-worker astatine a fashionable Tex-Mex edifice successful Fort Worth, according to instrumentality enforcement successful the Lone Star State.

Gregory D. Lewis, 34, stands accused of capital murder implicit the decease of 31-year-old Thomas King, who went missing earlier this month. The suspect is besides charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and a parole violation, according to Tarrant County jailhouse records.

The unfortunate was past seen connected April 13, wearing his azygous for Taco Casa, a determination concatenation with locations successful Texas and Oklahoma.

The adjacent day, King's household reported him missing erstwhile helium failed to instrumentality location aft his displacement astatine the Taco Casa connected Bridgewood Drive successful Fort Worth, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.

Law enforcement tracked the missing man's car to a Quality Inn connected Interstate 20 successful Arlington, according to an apprehension warrant obtained by Dallas-based ABC affiliate WFAA.

Surveillance footage showed Lewis arriving successful King's car soon aft the unfortunate got disconnected enactment connected the time successful question, constabulary said. Later, detectives determined Lewis had worked alongside King astatine the eatery.

After homicide detectives took implicit the probe precocious past week, constabulary archetypal arrested Lewis connected unrelated charges. Then, portion being interrogated, the suspect allegedly admitted to sidesplitting King.

"We were capable to interrogation this individual, and the idiosyncratic did assertion and confess to really murdering our missing idiosyncratic and leaving his vehicle," Fort Worth Police Officer Buddy Calzada said.

On Friday, investigators discovered King's assemblage successful an unfastened tract connected the eastbound broadside of Fort Worth, according to the constabulary department.

Lewis would spell connected to explicate however helium got a thrust from King aft enactment that fateful night, constabulary said. The brace past drove to a concern analyzable nearby, according to the warrant. The victim's assemblage was yet recovered successful a wooded country down the complex.

"The mode this unfolded is precise bittersweet and precise tragic," Calzada added. "It's hardest for the family."

The unfortunate was the oldest of 4 siblings and a begetter of 2 with his precocious schoolhouse sweetheart, according to King's family.

"He was the sweetest person," his sister told the TV station.

A GoFundMe for the victim's household remembers him fondly.

"Thomas lived with a intelligence disability, but contempt that, helium showed up each azygous time with love, strength, and dedication for his family," the online fundraiser reads. "He had a benignant heart, trusted people, and did his champion to supply and beryllium contiguous for his children. Anyone who knew him knows helium did not merit what happened to him."

While instrumentality enforcement is keeping mum astir the nonstop circumstances of the killing, King's household believes helium was being bullied astatine enactment — apt owed to a proceeding and code impediment.

His sister told the TV presumption that her member mostly kept to himself but mightiness person been targeted implicit his disability.

"I consciousness similar they felt similar helium was an casual target," she said.

The GoFundMe besides levels further accusations of bullying astatine the defendant, without mentioning him by name, and claims helium "had antecedently bullied him and took vantage of his benignant quality and constricted intelligence capabilities."

Another sibling said the household was astatine a nonaccomplishment to explicate the murder.

"We privation to cognize wherefore they did this to him," the victim's different sister told WFAA. "We privation to cognize the answers."

In a connection provided to the TV station, Taco Casa expressed sadness for "the tragic nonaccomplishment of beingness involving 2 individuals who were some employees of our organization" portion stressing the incidental occurred "off institution spot and extracurricular of moving hours." The institution besides said it had nary anterior denotation the men were astatine odds.

"At this time, we are not alert of immoderate anterior issues oregon conflicts betwixt the individuals involved," the connection from the Fort Worth-based institution reads. "Taco Casa is committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive enactment situation for each squad members, and situations similar this are some shocking and profoundly distressing for our full organization."