The police in Houston, Texas have declared wanted a 28-year-old Nigerian man identified as Chukwuebuka Nwobodo, for murder of a 24-year-old California woman, Felicia Johnson, after searching online “how to get away with murder,” “how to be a serial killer” and “does bleach destroy DNA” some days after the deceased disappeared.
The Texas-based fugitive was charged last week with murder and tampering with evidence in relation to Felicia’s disappearance in Houston in April this year, New York Post reports. Nwobodo was said to have killed and dismembered Felicia inside his apartment on April 16 before disposing of her body. It was reported that court documents showed that the suspect was reported to have been captured on surveillance video where he bought trash bags, gloves, a mechanical saw, shovel and flashlight at a Walmart and Home Depot on April 16 and 17.
Meanwhile, after days without seeing Felicia’s body, her cell phone was found in blood off the roadway in Bear Creek Pioneers Parks near Highway 6 and Clay Road.
Officers said that a member of Texas EquuSearch found a purse nearby the same scene matching the description of Johnson’s purse. According to police, Nwobodo had ordered an Uber for Felicia from her hotel to his apartment the night she eventually disappeared, after posting an advertisement on an escort website. When she could not return after some days, her family told police that she had travelled to Houston to celebrate her birthday and earn some extra money.
Police said they tracked Nwobodo through investigating the Uber that had conveyed Felicia. The suspect was arrested on May 13, but he was released at the time because police said there was not enough evidence to charge him for Felicia’s disappearance. But during a search of his apartment, investigators said that there were blood stains all over his Richmond Avenue apartment, including the hallway floor outside the bathroom, and throughout the bedroom. Authorities said that a test carried out on the blood showed a match to Johnson’s DNA profile.
Investigators also said that photos of a dismembered body were also found on Nwobodo’s phone, but the victims in the photos were not identified and no metadata was associated with them, KHOU reports. After searching the phone, police also found DNA and blood that strongly match the victim inside Nwobodo’s apartment. It was reported that over the next three weeks after the incident, Nwobodo allegedly searched online multiple times for how to destroy evidence.
He also searched “how to kill without getting caught,” “how to be a serial killer,” “what does bleach do to blood” and “most forested part of Houston.” Nwobodo was previously accused of sexual assault in November 2020, police said.
A woman claimed he tried to rape her in his vehicle. She got out and broke free after he chased her down and grabbed her wrist, the woman said in the probable cause affidavit. Police said she later denied there was any violence or sexual assault. She said she did not want to press charges, and just wanted to go home, Law&Crime reports.
