GUILTY TX - Ronald Shumway, 57, found buried at his Dallas home, 23 April 2015

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As far as I read I assume the whole body was there. The torso was just the first thing they could see that told them it was human. No telling if he acted alone, that info has not been released. The body was found entombed in concrete in his own backyard. Looking forward to seeing exactly how they were able to catch him. I know he has lived in LA before (where they found him) but I think there had to have been an insider tip OR hes still been using the credit card in LA. But thatd be tough just based off the purchases he was making... Id put my money on a tip from someone.






cvaldez1975 said:
Found it!

Was RS remains just a torso? I read an Article from Feb in Dallas Voice that said so.

How grisly! Was the rest of his remains located, or a crime scene? Did CC act alone? He has not yet been charged with homicide so I will await further news I guess.
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http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/201...n-suspected-of-posing-as-dead-homeowner.html/

A man accused of impersonating a north Oak Cliff homeowner found buried in the yard has been arrested in California.
Christopher Brian Colbert, 43, is awaiting extradition after U.S. marshals caught him in Los Angeles, Dallas police said Thursday.
Colbert is accused of posing as Ronald Shumway to sell the dead man’s home. He was being sought on charges of tampering with a government record, securing the execution of document by deception and money-laundering. No bail has been set, according to Los Angeles County records.
In September, Shumway’s remains were found in the side yard of his home in the 700 block of North Winnetka Avenue near West Davis Street. The 57-year-old had not been seen since April.
Police have said they’re investigating his death as a homicide.
Colbert contacted a broker in May for an evaluation of Shumway’s house, according to an arrest warrant. He introduced himself as Shumway and signed a contract with the broker, agreeing to sell the house for $145,000, the warrant states.
Colbert signed closing documents as “Ronald D. Shumway,” selling the home for $130,000, investigators said.
 
He confessed.

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/201...liff-homeowner-confessed-to-killing-him.html/

A man accused of selling a Kessler Stevens house by posing as its dead owner has confessed to killing the man, police said Monday.
Related

Christopher Brian Colbert, 43, was arrested in Los Angeles earlier this month after Dallas police issued an arrest warrant in connection with the sale of Ronald Shumway’s north Oak Cliff home.
Dallas police detectives went to Los Angeles to interview Colbert about Shumway’s death. The 57-year-old’s remains were found encased in concrete in September at the house in the 700 block of North Winnetka Avenue, near West Davis Street. He had last been seen in April, though his signature appeared on the June 22 deed authorizing the sale of his home for $130,000.
Colbert first denied being involved in Shumway’s death but changed his story after Dallas homicide Detective Esteban Montenegro asked him why he had been posing as Shumway. Colbert said he once lived with Shumway and “went back to being friends” after he moved out of the house on Winnetka, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
But the duo argued one day while Shumway was drinking, and Colbert said Shumway tried to strangle him. The men struggled, and Colbert strangled Shumway. He told detectives he bought cement from the nearby Home Depot on Fort Worth Avenue. Colbert said he might have tied up Shumway but couldn’t remember because “he blacked out from fear and shock,” the warrant says.
An autopsy on Shumway showed his hands and feet had been bound with neckties. There was also evidence that he had been strangled, records show.
Shumway was a former Dallas Area Rapid Transit driver and bought the house on Winnetka in 1984. DART officials said they had no contact with Shumway in the months before his body was found. After his remains were discovered, neighbors told KXAS-TV (NBC5) that Shumway was known to call police on neighbors to complain about loud music and barking dogs.
Colbert, also known as Christian Colbert, was a photographer for Dallas Voice, thepublication reported.
Colbert told police that he “just made a thing around the house” out of cement, and that’s where he put Shumway’s body, the warrant says.
Records show Colbert posed as Shumway when he met a broker in May to evaluate the Winnetka Avenue house. He agreed to sell the house for $145,000 and signed a contract with the broker. He also put his photograph on Shumway’s license, which he faxed to Chicago Title Company during the sale of the home, police records show.
Afterward, he deposited $109,000 into his Bank of America account and withdrew all the money in Shumway’s bank account, records show. Two witnesses identified Colbert as the man they met posing as Shumway during the sale of the Winnetka home.
Colbert is charged with murder, securing execution of a document by deception and tampering with a government record. He remained in custody in Los Angeles late Monday.
 
I was telling my husband about this case last night (I grew up in Dallas/Richardson), and this seems like one of the episodes out of CSI..........you just can't make this s*l+ up!!
 
I doubt his story of self defense. If it was indeed self defense, he would have took off and tha would be that. No, he sold his house.
 
Am I the only one who felt a bit close to this guy?
I think I would never have been able to be his friend.
But look at me as he was gone and missing, and people said all kind of things, and I protected him...
Just sad...
Mrs Snodgrass, you & hubby are in my thoughts.
 
AliceInPain said:
Am I the only one who felt a bit close to this guy?
I think I would never have been able to be his friend.
But look at me as he was gone and missing, and people said all kind of things, and I protected him...
Just sad...
Mrs Snodgrass, you & hubby are in my thoughts.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your consideration as to how we are feeling about all of this! I have experienced many emotions since this has aired.. I have things in my home that Christian made me and I just cannot seem to throw them away. I understand what he did was very wrong, there is no way to justify his actions. You would have had to know him personally to understand how I feel about him. For starters I am a dog lover, his two (very cute) long haired dachshunds always came up to play with my boston. This was the baseline of mine and Christopher Colberts relationship. He LOVED those animals. They were his world, above anything else he made sure those two pups had what they needed and they loved everything about him. Would follow him to the end of the earth. Every time he was kicked out, he grabbed his two dogs, and a small back pack with a blanket in it and would head to a nearby park. We made jewelry together, he ate dinner with us,we watched him attempt circus tricks in the backyard while we all laughed. Drugs are mostly responsible for what warped the man I knew into what he has now become. While living under us he became increasingly paranoid of everything, down to thinking that the apartments were wired and men were on the roof trying to hurt him. He even called the police to report the so called "men on the roof." After talking to his old roommate, Christian had gotten even worse with the drugs after moving in with Ronald. From what I have read in a couple articles, Ronald was not a very nice man at all.. I am in no way excusing the actions of Christian BUT I believe that Ronalds anger, and Christians drug use played a big role in this. It would be difficult to convince me that Christian planned the whole thing out from the beginning. I DO believe that it was some sort of altercation between the two. I dont think a man who was bright enough to assume the identity of his victim and then sell the home would've planned out killing Ronald then burying him so poorly that people were able to locate and smell the body so shortly after... sadly only Christian and Ronald are aware of what took place that unfortunate day. When the photo was released of him in the yellow shirt I almost couldnt believe it was him... he looked so much older, twisted, and just plain old creepy. Not the funny,vagabond, dog loving, risky neighbor that I had known. I am proud of him for confessing to what he did, I have never seen anyone more afraid of the police than he was, took me by surprise that he admitted what he did. My thoughts are with the Shumway family, and my prayers are with Christian as he faces his demons.
 
I hate to ask this but are his dogs safe and with someone who loves them or were they just dumped at a shelter? Sorry, but I always worry for the animal family members.
 
Ray_of_hope said:
I hate to ask this but are his dogs safe and with someone who loves them or were they just dumped at a shelter? Sorry, but I always worry for the animal family members.
Click to expand...
We called to check on them, they are not at a shelter. They are staying with the person that Christian was living with in LA. His old roommate is currently trying to get the dogs. If our landlord was a little more understanding we would adopt them ourselves. But either way the pups will end up in a good home thankfully! They were the first things I thought of when we found out he was captured.
 
I had a friend who for whatever reason murdered a gas station attendant who was a close friend of my father's. This was 40+ years ago and I still sometimes stop and remember. He had a terrible childhood but was still always sunny and sweet and helpful to everybody, the kind of young man who would help old ladies carry their groceries out to the car. And yet he committed that terrible crime. It's still hard for me to comprehend.

I used to visit him in prison until they transferred him out of state, and he said it helped, since his own family had turned their backs on him.

It still makes me want to cry.
 
carbuff said:
I had a friend who for whatever reason murdered a gas station attendant who was a close friend of my father's. This was 40+ years ago and I still sometimes stop and remember. He had a terrible childhood but was still always sunny and sweet and helpful to everybody, the kind of young man who would help old ladies carry their groceries out to the car. And yet he committed that terrible crime. It's still hard for me to comprehend.

I used to visit him in prison until they transferred him out of state, and he said it helped, since his own family had turned their backs on him.

It still makes me want to cry.
Click to expand...

How awful, I'm so sorry. =(
I know for a fact my heart is not as kind as yours, because I had a friend who murdered also, and she eventually got her (life) sentence, and I had NO tears for her.
She did however threaten my entire family...

(She was at first thought to suffer from schizophrenia, was let out, did it again, different judge...)

I hadn't even noticed there were dogs in the picture, Mrs. Snodgrass, I am so happy they will be ok!

I'll follow this, see how it goes. Just crazy, weird, so much hurt... =/
 
AliceInPain said:
How awful, I'm so sorry. =(
I know for a fact my heart is not as kind as yours, because I had a friend who murdered also, and she eventually got her (life) sentence, and I had NO tears for her.
She did however threaten my entire family...

(She was at first thought to suffer from schizophrenia, was let out, did it again, different judge...)

I hadn't even noticed there were dogs in the picture, Mrs. Snodgrass, I am so happy they will be ok!

I'll follow this, see how it goes. Just crazy, weird, so much hurt... =/
Click to expand...

I'm not sure whether it's my heart that's soft, or just my head...:p
 
Mr Shumway, from what it sounds, was a loud and eccentric gay dude.

I don't know what to make of the murderer. Look at this pic I saw. I just started looking around and don't know if the link's been posted
Colbert.Christian1.jpg
But ain't that scary? Even if you didn't know he killed a guy and then sold his house with them being on the real estate and that kind of stuff?....
 
He seems like he was an eccentric gay man himself.

bflocket said:
Mr Shumway, from what it sounds, was a loud and eccentric gay dude.

I don't know what to make of the murderer. Look at this pic I saw. I just started looking around and don't know if the link's been posted
View attachment 91568
But ain't that scary? Even if you didn't know he killed a guy and then sold his house with them being on the real estate and that kind of stuff?....
Click to expand...
 
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