AUSTIN, Texas — An 84-year-old man is facing a first-degree murder charge after he allegedly admitted to killing his 83-year-old roommate and her dog.
"I already miss her," said friend and neighbor Joyce Kelly. "When I leave for work in the morning and it's dark and I see her bedroom light on, I feel like she's there and she's not."
Kelly is grappling with the loss of her decades-long friend and neighbor 83-year-old Linda Mlsna, affectionately known as Ms. Gene.
According to the Austin Police Department (APD), Mlsna and her dog were found dead in her East Austin home on the 6900 block of Bryn Mawr Monday.
Kelly said Mlsna lived in that home for about 25 years and spent a lot of time loving on neighbors from her front yard.
"She chat with everybody, and everybody knew Gene and everybody loved Gene," said Kelly. "She was smart. She loved to read and write and she was witty."
After interviews with witnesses, investigators discovered that Mlsna's roommate, 84-year-old Jack Moore, was not at the scene and his whereabouts were unknown.
Police said they later discovered that Moore had used Mlsna's credit cards fraudulently after her death.
Moore was later arrested on a separate charge and allegedly admitted to detectives that he killed Mlsna and her dog, then used her credit cards and planned to leave the country.
"She didn't deserve what happened and she was a great loving, God-fearing woman and a great friend," said Kelly.
Moore was booked into the Travis County Jail on a murder charge and a parole violation. He's currently being held without bond.