Inset: Aquiminee La Roy Crawford (Bexar County Jail). Background: The house where Crawford allegedly killed his uncle and hid his body in San Antonio, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas resident has been taken into custody following allegations that he fatally shot his uncle and concealed the body in a backyard recycling bin for several days, according to law enforcement in Texas.
Aquiminee La Roy Crawford, aged 26, faces two murder charges related to the death of his uncle, Derrick Crawford, as reported by the San Antonio Police Department.
The incident allegedly unfolded at a home on Sterling Street, situated in the Colosseum Willow Park area of east San Antonio. Authorities believe the shooting and killing of 52-year-old Crawford happened around May 9.
During the weekend, law enforcement responded to a 911 call made by Crawford himself, according to reports obtained by San Antonio’s ABC affiliate KSAT and Fox affiliate KABB.
Upon arrival, officers were informed by Crawford that his uncle had been “shot up in the back,” as noted in the arrest report. Officers on the scene detected a “foul odor” emanating from a recycling bin located in the backyard.
One officer tipped over the bin, and as the lid opened, a human hand was revealed. Inside, police discovered a deceased male with multiple gunshot wounds, wrapped in several black garbage bags, according to law enforcement accounts.
During an interview with police on Sunday night, the defendant admitted to getting a handgun from his bedroom two Saturdays earlier and then shooting his uncle inside the house, authorities said.
Crawford said he killed his uncle because he was upset about a comment the victim made to him, according to the police department.
While in custody, the defendant told a detective that his uncle called him a “b– a– nephew,” which caused him to “black out” and open fire — ultimately shooting the man five times in the living room, police said.
At least two of those shots struck Derrick Crawford in the chest and head, authorities wrote in the arrest report.
The defendant also said he was angry with his uncle for regularly borrowing most of his money, according to law enforcement.
Based on the defendant’s account, authorities recovered the gun said to have been used in the murder, a plastic bag of spent shell casings and the uncle’s cellphone from Crawford’s bedroom, police said.
Investigators corroborated the location of the shooting by taking note of blood spatter on the living room walls and ceiling as well as a couch cushion drenched in blood, according to law enforcement.
The victim’s mother — who also lives in the home — was questioned and said she was unaware of the murder. Rather, the woman said, she and her family had been looking for the victim for roughly a week.
Crawford was initially booked in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center for abuse of a corpse before the upgraded charges were later filed. He remains detained on $250,000 bond.
