Shraman Mitra
When the Colorado Springs police got information about a possible homicide on March 1, 1989, they wasted no time responding to the call. However, on reaching the crime scene, they found 27-year-old Timothy McClure dead, while his roommates refused to divulge any information. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Homicide Hunter: Hot on The Trail: A Burning Mystery’ chronicles Timothy’s death and shows how the investigation led straight to Alonzo Teja. Let’s take a detailed look at the crime and find out where Alonzo is at present, shall we?
Who Is Alonzo Teja?
At the time of Timothy’s murder, Alonzo was in his mid-twenties and was going through a rough phase in his life. The show mentioned that he was blind and spending his days at a local shelter. However, Alonzo was still new to the harsh ways of the world and found it really challenging to adjust to such a surrounding. As a result, others would often pick on him, which naturally made things worse. While living at the shelter, Alonzo got acquainted with one of Timothy’s housemates, Leah, who often came in to visit another friend. According to the show, Leah had experienced life in a shelter and was extra accommodating to people whenever circumstances allowed it. Hence, once she heard that people had stolen Alonzo’s sleeping bag, she welcomed him to crash at her place.
On March 1, 1989, Alonzo went to spend the night at Leah’s place and, without disturbing anyone, went to sleep on the couch. However, the show mentioned that Timothy hated freeloaders and often behaved rudely with anyone staying there without paying rent. Besides, on that day, the 27-year-old was quite drunk, which magnified his anger. Thus, according to the episode, once Timothy noticed Alonzo on the couch, he walked up to the sleeping person and tried to push him out physically.
As Alonzo could not see anything, he was taken aback by the sudden physical attack but soon fought back to defend himself. Unbeknown to anyone else in the house, Alonzo was a skilled wrestler, allowing him to gain the upper hand over Timothy quickly. Moreover, the episode showed how he held Timothy in a chokehold and kept asking him to surrender. However, he had utterly overestimated his power, and before the others could rush to Timothy’s aid, the victim had already passed away due to asphyxiation.
Interestingly, when the police arrived, Timothy’s housemates seemed unwilling to say anything and decided to remain silent. However, once cops interviewed them one by one, most came clean and pointed the finger at Alonzo. However, Alonzo claimed he had acted out of self-defense and had no intention of killing Timothy.
Where Is Alonzo Teja Today?
Once the case was brought in front of a grand jury, they decided that Alonzo did not intend to kill Timothy, drastically reducing the intensity of the charges against him. Moreover, they also determined that the suspect had acted out of self-defense, and thus, according to the episode, Alonzo Teja was acquitted of all charges. Unfortunately, since then, Alonzo prefers to keep his personal life under wraps and has a limited presence on social media. Besides, with no report mentioning his current whereabouts, it remains a mystery.
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