The physician accused of shooting a couple in front of his mother’s house allegedly believed the pair were members of “the Russian mob” who were sent to kill his mother, according to court documents.
New details in the slaying of 30-year-old Tiffany Strait and 27-year-old Anthony Strait have emerged from the records.
Robert Edward Fadal II is accused of shooting and killing the Straits while they were helping his mother on Feb. 25 in the 700 block of Timber Elm.
Deputies responded to a call for a reported shooting just before noon and found the couple suffering from gunshot wounds.
Anthony was pronounced dead at the scene while Tiffany was transported to Guadalupe Regional Medical Center where she later succumbed to her injuries.
As deputies began investigating, they were approached by Fadal, who allegedly admitted to the shooting, Sgt. Robert Murphy said in a court document.
“He was identified as the shooter when Robert Edward Fadal came out of his home and said that he was the shooter to responding deputies,” Murphy wrote.
Fadal was detained and later booked into Guadalupe County Jail on a charge of capital murder multiple persons. He currently is being held on a $5 million bond.
In another document, Investigator Mark Zuazua wrote that Fadal told deputies where the guns were in his house and that there were no other suspects involved.
During a search of the house, deputies found “a rifle and two handguns on a bed in an upstairs bedroom along with what appeared to be a rifle shell casing by the balcony door ... an additional shell casing was seen on the balcony of the same upstairs bedroom.”
Investigators believe this indicates the possible location where Fadal was when the shots were fired, Investigator Lt. Craig Jones said.
Fadal also reportedly told deputies that he shot the pair because he believed they were part of the “Russian mob,” Zuazua wrote.
“(Zuazua) was told that Robert Edward Fadal II admitted to firing on Anthony and Tiffany Strait as he believes they were part of the Russian Mob and he believed Anthony and Tiffany were at 783 Timber Elm to assault his mother,” the document said. “(Zuazua) was told Robert Edward Fadal had advised Sgt. (Patrick) Reynolds of a suicide note in his residence regarding the Russian Mob and events occurring within the stock market.”
In a subsequent interview with Investigator Sgt. Scott Humphrey, Fadal allegedly said “‘he had killed two innocent people,’ and that he lived a ‘good and rich life,’” Murphy wrote in the document.
Fadal also reportedly told investigators that the “Jewish community” was threatening him through several electronic means after he “investigated” their involvement in the stock market, the document said.
“Robert Edward Fadal claimed to Sgt. Humphrey that the Jewish people control all the wealth and that ‘they’ were communicating threats to him (Fadal) via his computer, his car and his cell phone,” Murphy wrote. “Robert Edward Fadal ... appeared to be very calm, but seemed somewhat paranoid, by stating that he could not speak around anything that was connected to the internet or any radio systems.”
Murphy wrote that Fadal was so insistent about the conversation not being “recorded via internet” that he wouldn’t speak with Humphrey until a digital wall clock was removed.
According to the documents, Fadal said he received many threats and started preparing to “defend himself,” Zuazua wrote.
“He believed that the persons in the 2005 GMC Sierra who had arrived at his mother’s home were there to murder his mother in retaliation for his infiltration into the Jewish community,” Murphy wrote.
During an additional search of the Fadal’s property, officers turned up numerous firearms and live rounds, as well as several electronic devices and a hand-written letter.
Investigators continue to pour over the information and evidence gathered at the scene of the shooting and Fadal’s property, while also awaiting toxicology results.
“Based on my training and experience this type of behavior is consistent with both methamphetamine use and/or prescription medication abuse,” Murphy wrote. “In my experience, people who abuse either methamphetamine and/or prescription medication often appear paranoid and or have a ‘flat’ effect which is apparent during the interview. Also, based on my training and experience, people who commit this kind of act for no apparent reasons are under the influence of some sort of substance.”