Suspect accused in gruesome murder of Tampa man he met on dating app asks for bond

TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa man was found brutally murdered in his home, and the suspected killer was discovered hiding in the home for days. 

Lazaro Basilio Martinez Rojas, 25, was arrested and is now facing a first-degree murder charge. 

Court documents revealed Martinez Rojas met the victim, Robert O’Connor, on a dating app called Grindr. On November 7, Martinez Rojas met the victim at a home on East Okara road.

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Investigators said the two had sex, but when O’Connor wanted Martinez Rojas to leave, he attacked him. 

Record shows the gruesome murder was caught on home surveillance video. It shows Martinez Rojas strangling the victim, and then standing on his throat. The victim's body could be seen going limp. 

Later, they said Martinez Rojas was seen on the video mutilating the body with a large kitchen knife. Four days later, O’Connor's coworkers discover his body wrapped in a blanket in one of the bedrooms. 

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They also found Martinez Rojas hiding underneath a living room couch. Martinez Rojas was arrested and is now in the Hillsborough County jail. He is asking for bond and a pretrial detention hearing will be held Friday afternoon. 

Prosecutors call him a danger to the community and will fight to keep him locked up until his trial.