Inset: Manuel Alejandro Mesa Cabrera (Platte County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The Walmart located at 818 East 23rd Street in Columbus, Nebraska (Google Maps).
A man has confessed to luring his stepfather to a Walmart under the pretense of searching for a vehicle part, only to fatally shoot him.
Manuel Mesa-Cabrera, 26, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the death of his 42-year-old stepfather, Anhil Mirabal Hernandez, as reported by Omaha’s ABC affiliate, KETV. Mesa-Cabrera is scheduled to receive his sentence in April.
The tragic incident occurred on May 27, 2025, when Mesa-Cabrera and Hernandez arrived at the Walmart situated at 818 East 23rd Street in Columbus. Authorities revealed that Mesa-Cabrera had requested his stepfather’s assistance in purchasing a vehicle part at the store.
According to an arrest affidavit accessed by Lincoln’s CBS affiliate KOLN, Mesa-Cabrera had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but was neither receiving medication nor consulting a doctor for his condition. Investigators suspect that in the days leading up to the tragic event, Mesa-Cabrera had resolved to kill his stepfather.
Once the two arrived at the retail giant, Mesa-Cabrera allegedly drew a 9 mm Smith and Wesson handgun, shooting Hernandez in the chest and head before fleeing the scene.
The Columbus Police Department promptly responded to the call, arriving at the Walmart parking lot around 6:20 p.m.
“Upon arrival, officers located a male victim lying on the ground with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest,” Captain Doug Molczyk said. “Officers immediately rendered aid until Columbus Fire Department medics arrived on scene.”
Hernandez was brought to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Mesa-Cabrera turned himself in “[s]hortly after” the shooting, police said. The defendant said he did so because “he knew he was going to be arrested,” according to the affidavit.
Mesa-Cabrera was originally charged with first-degree murder and the use of a firearm to commit a felony. He reportedly had purchased the Smith and Wesson by legal means two weeks before the shooting.
