60-year-old man was dragged by truck before it was set on fire, Texas cops say

A man suffered a gruesome death Sunday when he was tied to the back of his own pick-up truck and dragged down a roadway, Texas cops say.

After 60-year-old Roman Rodriguez was dragged behind the truck, the vehicle was set on fire, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office said. Officials were alerted to the truck fire around 10 p.m. Sunday and found Rodriguez’ dead body.

That led the sheriff’s office to begin an investigation into who caused his death. By Monday afternoon, 37-year-old Robert Eugene Hoffpauir had been charged in the death of Rodriguez.

The sheriff’s office said there was a “domestic disturbance” Sunday between Rodriguez and Tiffany Ann Cole, who is Hoffpauir’s mother. During the altercation at Cole’s home, Hoffpauir began severely beating Rodriguez before putting a tow strap around his waist, the sheriff’s office said.

The other end of the strap was attached to the pick-up truck owned by Rodriguez. Hoffpauir drove the truck “a lengthy distance down the road” before he abandoned it and set it on fire with Rodriguez still attached, according to the sheriff’s office.

Officials found a trail of blood from the home to where Rodriguez’ body was found about a mile down the road, according to BlueBonnet News.

It’s unclear if Rodriguez died from being beaten, dragged or from the fire. Officials are conducting an autopsy.

Hoffpauir was jailed in Liberty County with bail set at $1 million, the sheriff’s office said. He was also charged with abuse of a corpse, BlueBonnet News reported.

Liberty County is northeast of Houston.

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