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Body of Malayalee found

Published on 06 August, 2019
Body of Malayalee found

 - A Tuesday morning bank robbery in Valrico ended with a murder, Hillsborough deputies say. After hours of searching, the missing carjacking victim was found dead behind a church.

The scene unfolded this morning at the CenterState Bank in the Publix plaza along Highway 60 at Valrico Road. Deputies say an armed suspect robbed the bank, assaulted someone who tried to interfere, then carjacked a man -- later identified as 68-year-old Mathew Korattiyil -- at gunpoint in the parking lot.

An hour and a half after the carjacking, deputies spotted the stolen SUV and began pursuing it. They eventually used stop sticks and a PITT maneuver to roll the SUV onto its side. HCSO Colonel Donna Lusczynski said the suspect fled again, but after a foot chase of "quite some distance," James Hanson Jr. was arrested.

There was no sign of Korattiyil, though, and deputies hoped to hear from anyone who spotted the white 2019 Lexus SUV between the robbery at 10:43 a.m. and the chase, at 12:14 p.m.

Lusczynski said Korattiyil​​​​​​'s body had been found behind the Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic Community Center on Washington Road, just a few minutes away from the carjacking scene.

Additional charges will be filed against Hanson, she said. The 39-year-old was just released from prison in July.

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മലയാളത്തില്‍ ടൈപ്പ് ചെയ്യാന്‍ ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക