A woman renting a room found the decomposing body of the longtime homeowner and landlord under the stairs. Readers are curious to find out more about the suspect, Pamela Ann Merrit, and why she kept the decomposing body of her landlord under the stairs.
Who is Pamela Ann Merritt?
Pamela Ann Merritt is a 43-year-old woman, who has been arrested on a murder charge nearly 2 years after her landlord’s decomposed body was found in the backyard of his Montrose, Texas, home.
Pamela Ann Merritt was detained on Friday, August 18, following claims made by detectives in May 2023 that she killed Colin Kerdachi, 78, on or around February 15, 2021.
On December 6, 2021, Houston police officers visited the residence a number of times before discovering Kerdachi’s remains inside a tri-plex at 605 West Grey Street.
How was Landlord’s decomposing body found?
Three days later, police returned to the home to look into a burglary that appeared to have been committed by a man who was leasing from Kerdachi, who was renting the top floor of the triplex and resided on the ground floor.
The unnamed guy told deputies that Merritt was in the home when he arrived home after a protracted vacation. According to the affidavit, police then transported Merritt to a hospital for a mental health assessment.
On October 2, 2021, police were summoned to the house once more due to a suspicious incident when a different tenant claimed to have seen enormous pools of blood in a bathroom on the third level.
The renter further told the police that she discovered a knife in the mailbox and a bloody trash can in a third-floor crawl area.
The tenant was the same person, who found Kerdachi’s remains under the staircase in December 2021. “I saw the ribs poking out, and that’s what made me think, ‘Is that a body? What is that?’” the woman told KTRK.
What are the charges against Pamela Ann Merritt?
Houston police officials interviewed Merritt a day after they found Kerdachi’s remains. Merritt reportedly argued that Kerdachi’s remnants belonged to a deceased dog during the entire interview, refusing to accept that Kerdachi had passed away.
According to the affidavit, “She further stated that she believes [Kerdachi] faked his death to commit fraud and is most likely alive in Africa.”
After questioning the person who called the police about the burglary in February 2021, Merritt was revealed to be the main suspect in Kerdachi’s slaying.
Investigators were told by the man that Merritt reportedly told him that Kerdachi was slain when he questioned her about her location.
Detectives also spoke with a man who claimed to have known Merritt and Kerdachi for days prior to the discovery of Kerdachi’s body. He claimed to have overheard Kerdachi telling Merritt that she had killed her landlord and that the body was under the stairs.
Merritt was charged with murder on May 30 and taken into custody on Friday. Authorities also detained a second man, Michael Brown, whom they suspect assisted Merritt in dismembering Kerdachi’s body. Police say that Brown is charged with tampering with evidence.
Source: www.ghbase.com
