BAYTOWN, Texas – A Baytown mechanic is facing a murder charge after being accused of beating a man to death with a hammer.
Cameron Spencer is being held in the Harris County jail on $100,000 bond after he turned himself in to authorities on Thursday.
Kathleen Wilkinson told Channel 2 that her boyfriend, Jerad Mattingly, had been in and out of Spencer Auto Repair shop in Baytown.
She said the owner was working to repair the motor of their Nissan 350Z but there was friction between the owner and her boyfriend.
On Oct. 15, Jerad went back to the auto repair shop to have the car looked at but Kathleen never heard from him again.
“His phone was off, he didn’t reply to my messages and I knew something was wrong," Wilkinson said.
Police located Mattingly's car a mile from their home but no sign of him. Wilkinson filed a missing person report and two weeks later investigators found his body underneath the Fred Hartman Bridge.
“It’s been so painful, my best friend is gone," Wilkinson said.
Spencer, the owner of Spencer Auto Repair, turned himself into Chambers County authorities on Thursday. According to the probable cause affidavit, Spencer confessed to the murder. He stated to police that he used a hammer to knock Mattingly unconscious.
According to the magistrate, Spencer said that he “wrapped Jerad in plastic and duct tape” and that he later, “shot him in the head and then poured gas on Jerad's body and lit him on fire.”
Wilkinson said that the confession doesn't bring her any peace.
“I just want to know why he did this to him,” she said.