Man Killed Roommate Over Pork Chop, Police Say
A man killed his roommate over a pork chop, according to police in Volusia County. The man is facing a second-degree murder charge over the drunken argument about how to prepare the meat.
Police in Holly Hill arrested 55-year-old Thomas Hahn, who allegedly shot and killed one of his three roommates on Tuesday around 10:30 pm, reports The Orlando Sentinel.
The dispute over cooking pork chops reportedly began when his roommate, Robert Eugene Gray Jr. came home drunk. The two roommates began to argue over how best to prepare the meat, notes the International Business Times.
Police state that Hahn retrieved his .22-caliber Ruger rifle and fired a minimum of three shots, killing his roommate. When they arrived at the scene, they saw Gray dead on the floor with Hahn sitting in a chair nearby.
Gray was struck by two bullets. Hahn alleges that he shot his roommate in self defense, though witnesses claim he was not provoked, but may have been looking for a reason, like preparing pork chops, to shoot Gray. Chief Mark Barker stated:
“This appears to be a senseless act of violence stemming from a minor domestic dispute between roommates. There is no clear answer at this hour as to why Hahn acted with such extreme violence.”
The pair’s roommates allege that Hahn was already planning on killing Gray Tuesday if he came home drunk, making it likely that the pork chop preparation was not the only reason the roommate was killed. Neighbor Cheryl Seltzer wasn’t surprised to hear about the incident. She stated:
“Frankly, I was expecting something like that to happen with all of the people he had going in and out of his house for the last few years of longer. We always suspected it would be him who got killed.”
Hahn is currently being held without bail at the Volusia County Branch Jail after he allegedly killed his roommate over a pork chop.