A suspect in the murder of Austin attorney James Short has been arrested and detained in New Orleans, the Travis County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.
Investigators were able to identify Justin Nickolas Twyne, 24, after receiving numerous phone calls suggesting he was the person of interest in pictures released by TCSO over the weekend. Twyne's fingerprints matched prints found on evidence at the crime scene.
The day before Short's stabbing death, Short and the accused killer -- Justin Nickolas Twyne -- were seen shopping together at Walmart. The nature of their relationship is not yet clear, TCSO said.
TCSO discovered an outstanding arrest warrant for Twyne out of Georgia. The U.S. Marshals Task Force, Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force were able to locate and arrest Twyne in New Orleans on the unrelated warrant on Friday.
On Tuesday, April 11, a TCSO detective went to New Orleans to follow up on the arrest and found several of Short's possessions in the hotel room where Twyne was staying.
On Wednesday, April 12, a warrant was signed charging Twyne with murder and setting his bond at $500,000. He is currently in jail in the New Orleans Parrish Sheriff's Office Jail awaiting extradition to Travis County.
At the time of Twyne's arrest, Short's vehicle was still missing. But on April 14, his 1999 tan Chevorolet Suburban was found in Louisiana.
Affidavit for man charged with murder of Austin attorney. pic.twitter.com/FRe6vZ1ll4
— Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski) April 12, 2017
Short, 74, was found dead in southwest Travis County home April 7. TCSO received a call around 11:48 a.m. requesting a welfare check Short at his home in the 8000 block of Rockwood Circle. At 4:57 p.m. they got a search warrant to enter the house and found Short dead inside the home.
TCSO said the Short "clearly" did not die of natural causes and it appears that he was targeted.