'Sovereign citizen' tenant decapitated landlord with sword over rent dispute, say Hartford, CT police

Well, this is both grim and bizarre.

A man in Connecticut is charged with having decapitated his landlord with a sword after the man was told he had to move out because he owed back rent, say Hartford police.

After they got a search warrant was obtained, police found papers showing Thompson believes he is a "sovereign citizen," meaning he is not subject to any statutes and interprets the laws in their own way, the detectives wrote.

CNN:

The Hartford Police Department responded to a 911 call Saturday morning from the landlord, Victor King, who said that his roommate Jerry Thompson, 42, had been "waving a sword at him in a threatening and terrorizing manner" amid a rent dispute, according to an arrest warrant filed by Hartford detectives.

King gave officers Thompson's cell phone number, according to the warrant. It did not say if police spoke to Thompson Saturday. The next day, police received calls from a neighbor and then a separate friend of King's who were concerned about his safety, the warrant said.

Police entered the residence Sunday afternoon to find a grisly crime scene and King's body "covered by numerous articles of bedding" on the floor, according to the warrant.

A medical examiner investigator's preliminary observations suggested King's injuries were consistent with a large edged weapon, noting "lacerations to the landlord's right arm, upper chest and across the neck causing decapitation."

Surveillance video also caught a male exiting a white Jeep, carrying a "long skinny white object in his right hand," walking into the residence Saturday afternoon, and exiting about 30 minutes later with the same object, the warrant said.

More at the Hartford Courant:
Roommate arrested in deadly Hartford attack on Travelers retiree, a top-ranked bridge player

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