Dating App Hookup Takes a Dark Twist With Grisly Murder; Suspect Found Hiding Under Couch Days Later, Police Say
Lazaro Rojas, 26, was taken into custody at the Tampa home of a man who he is charged with killing during a Grindr meetup.
Nov. 17 2023, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
A man in Florida has been charged with the gruesome murder of a man he reportedly met on a dating app, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The suspect was arrested after authorities said they found him hiding under a couch in the victim's home in Tampa, where he stayed for days following the killing, as Front Page Detectives reported.
At the home, police said they found the victim tied to a tree.
Police and fire officials conducted a welfare check at the home on Okara Road in Tampa on Nov. 10, according to the Tampa Police Department. They found a man in his 50s unresponsive and wrapped in a blanket who was pronounced dead at the scene, they said.
Authorities also found Lazaro Rojas, 26, hiding under a living room couch in a severe state of dehydration, WFLA-TV reported.
Travis Stacey Peterson and Melissa Ann Gray of Kearns, Utah, were arrested for aggravated child abuse.
During their investigation, officials learned that Rojas first met the victim, Robert O'Connor, on the dating app Grindr.
The pair made plans to meet up at O'Connor's home on Nov. 7, according to several reports.
Police said they received a cybertip from the online chat platform MeetMe, which started the investigation.
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The men reportedly had sex during this meetup, and afterward, Rojas became angry when O'Connor asked him to leave, according to WTVT-TV.
Investigators said surveillance cameras in the home captured video of Rojas strangling O'Connor.
The victim was found with 15 stab wounds and lying in a pool of blood by police in 1988.
He is then seen standing on O'Connor's neck before the victim's body could be seen going limp, the local outlet reported.
Rojas could then be seen in the video mutilating the victim's body with a large kitchen knife, WTVT reported.
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Rojas was taken to a hospital due to his dehydration before being arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Officials believe he had been hiding in the victim's home since the killing.
He remains in custody at the Hillsborough County Jail, officials said.