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A Texas ex-con was arrested and charged after police say he murdered a woman with a machete-like weapon.
Authorities responded to a residence in China Springs, a rural area about 12 miles from Waco, around 9am on Saturday. A woman at the home told investigators her son was standing outside “very sweaty”.
The woman told police she attempted to walk around her son, 36-year-old Richard Ozment, but he blocked her path.
Shortly after, she said she spotted a human foot behind an RV located on her property. She walked around the vehicle and found a woman’s bruised body.
“What have you done?” the mother asked Ozment, who allegedly responded, “She [the murder victim] tried to stab me.” His mother ran back inside the home and called 911 for help. China Spring firefighters first responded to the home and noticed a man running away from the area.
Officials tended to Michaela Booker, 38, who had suffered “extensive injuries, mainly, to her head,” KWTX reported. Officials airlifted the woman to Baylor Scott & White Center in Temple, Texas, where she died from her injuries.
Following a 10-hour search, officials took Ozment into custody and charged him with murder. He had been hiding in a stock tank about a football field away from the crime scene, the outlet reported.
“This is one of the most horrific, brutal and senseless attacks that we have seen in a long time,” said McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara.
“It never should have happened. This guy who we believe committed this horrible and brutal murder was sentenced to 40 years. He served approximately 10 years, was paroled out and then committed this horrible crime. He never should have gotten out, but he did.”
McNamara said Ozment was sentenced to 40 years in 2014 for robbing churches but only served 10 years. He’s been out of parole since his release from prison.
Ozment, who is being held on a $1m bond, was first arrested at age 16 and convicted of aggravated sexual assault. Three years later, officials booked him on a felony terroristic threat charge.
