Dallas bakery owner allegedly kills artist after interview

A Dallas bakery owner was arrested after he allegedly stabbed to death and burned a local artist he had just interviewed on Instagram Live inside his business.

Manuel Tellez, 45, interviewed Anthony Moreno, 52, at his Maroches Bakery on April 2 about his sugar skull artwork on display in the store, the Dallas Morning News reported, citing the arrest warrant affidavit.

The two men were inside the bakery alone together during the Instagram Live interview, after which Moreno texted his wife to say he was heading home soon.

Tellez and Moreno later walked to a nearby alley, where the bakery owner allegedly stabbed the artist to death and left, the news outlet reported.

The suspect later returned with gasoline and set the body on fire, which a surveillance camera captured, the affidavit states.

The footage shows Tellez wearing a surgical mask and a baseball cap to hide his identity, a detective reportedly wrote, adding that the baker’s SUV has distinct rust spots on the roof that could be seen in the video.

Tellez also was seen in the footage wearing a white latex glove while filling a portable gas can about 2:10 a.m., according to the Dallas Morning News.

The same kind of glove was later recovered at the grisly crime scene, the affidavit reportedly states.

The affidavit did not cite a motive but noted that the two men shared “a romantic interest” in the same woman, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Moreno’s family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for the funeral expenses.

Tellez evaded arrest for almost a week and even shared the GoFundMe account on Facebook.

“OMG I can not believe he shared this! He killed my husband and made it seem like everything was normal,” Moreno’s wife, Ofelia, commented about the post.

The victim’s son, Tony Moreno, said that after looking for his then-missing father in Dallas, he searched for him in the city of Keller, where he also had some family ties, WFAA reported.

“It wasn’t until I heard there was a body found and, unfortunately, I prayed it wasn’t him,” Tony told the outlet. “It turned out, it was.”

He added: “I forgive the man that took him, unfortunately. I know that’s unheard of, but I am a Godly man, so I do pray for the man who took my father’s life.”

Tellez was arrested on April 7 on a murder charge and is being held at the Dallas County Jail on a $1.5 million bond.

Those in the Latino arts community said they were shocked by the slaying and the arrest of Tellez, whose bakery on West Davis Street has long been a family-friendly cultural space for music, poetry and Mexican crafts.

“My heart goes out to the families,” Ofelia Faz Garza, who had read poetry at the bakery, told the Dallas Morning News.

Moreno recently described the art he created to the online publication CanvasRebel, saying its focus is “strength, importance and visually showing that the definition of love is woman,” the paper reported.

 “I’m a romantic and was raised by very strong-willed women,” he added.