By Erika Hernandez
Norris Taft, a 52-year-old Arizona man and father of four, was allegedly run over by his date after warning his family that he had been a victim of “catfishing.”a practice in which a person uses false photographs or identities on the web.
The case occurred in Phoenix and culminated in the arrest of Mikela Bahe, 30, accused of murder, reported Day-after-day Mail.
The victim told his family that he had been deceived
According to court documents cited by ABC 15, Norris Taft met Mikela Bahe through the dating app MocoSpace.
The man picked her up at a Dunkin Donuts store to have their first date. However, shortly afterward he sent a message to his nephew stating that the woman did not look like the photos on his profile.
“I have been a victim of catfishing,” he wrote, according to records cited by authorities.
The investigation maintains that the two continued touring different parts of Phoenix during the afternoon, including a gas station and a marijuana dispensary, before arriving at Taft’s apartment complex.
Surveillance footage showed Mikela Bahe getting into the victim’s Cadillac Escalade pickup truck while he remained in front of the vehicle.
The police stated that Taft tried to stop the truck with his arms outstretched, but the woman accelerated and ran him over before fleeing the scene.
The man was rushed to a health center, where he died hours later due to the severity of his injuries.
Suspect was located days later
Authorities indicated they tracked Mikela Bahe through social media posts and surveillance videos.
The woman was found on May 6 near Route 89, near Flagstaff.
During the court hearing, prosecutors stated that the recordings show that the defendant “intentionally hit” the victim with the vehicle.
After his arrest, Bahe reportedly told his mother by phone that he would be “in prison for a long time,” according to court documents cited by local media.
At the moment She remains in custody with bail set at $1 million. and is due to appear in court again on May 13.
Norris Taft’s family remembered him as a loving father and close to his children. His daughter, Brianna Fallon, said she felt devastated by the loss and stated that she was unaware of her father’s plans to meet with the suspect.
“She ran him over and just left him there,” he told US media.
Family members also started a fundraising campaign to cover funeral expenses following Taft’s unexpected death.
Keep reading:
–“Any parent’s worst nightmare”: drunk grandmother runs over and kills her grandson in Louisiana
–He killed two people in New Mexico after receiving an alleged “encrypted message from a cockroach”
–New Jersey woman stabbed her two-year-old brother after hearing “voices” ordering her to do so
