The Dallas Police Department says the man accused of fraudulently selling a home belonging to an Oak Cliff man now admits to killing him in self defense.
Police on Monday charged Christopher Brian Colbert with murder in the death of Ron Shumway, whose body was found entombed in concrete in his own backyard on North Winnetka. Colbert also is accused of posing as Shumway to sell the dead man’s house and then stealing $109,000 from his bank account using his debit card.
A probable cause affidavit released today says Colbert told Dallas Police detectives that Shumway had been drinking. They argued, then Shumway began to strangle him. He told police he feared Shumway would “tie him up and kill him,” according to the affidavit. The two began choking each other, Colbert told police. He said he choked the man to death.
The affidavit states that Shumway’s hands and feet had been bound with neckties. He was wrapped in a black plastic bag, and he was not buried. Just covered in concrete.
Police found evidence that Colbert had purchased bags of cement at Home Depot on Fort Worth Avenue. Also, two people involved in the sale of the house, Connor Steinbrook and notary public Patricia Bramhall, identified Colbert from a six-man lineup as the person who posed as Shumway.
Police previously had charged Colbert with three counts of fraud in the real estate scam: tampering with governmental record, securing executing of document by deception and money laundering. U.S. Marshals arrested Colbert earlier this month in Los Angeles, and he is awaiting extradition.
