Double-murder of cyclists now being treated as hate crime

WALLER COUNTY, Texas (FOX 26) - When State police said 25-year-old Victor Kevin Tome ran over and killed two bicyclist back in March, no one knew why the Dallas resident was in Waller County. Or why he allegedly committed the crime. But now we have the bizarre answer.

Waller County Assistant District Attorney W.K. Diepraam says, "he chose victims because he thought they were Russian. And that's why he killed them."

Diepraam, the chief prosecutor in Waller County, says Tome, who was in the military, told State investigators he killed the cyclists because he thought the Americans were actually Russians.

"Apparently, because of something in his history he has a dislike and a hate for people of Russian origin," says Diepraam.

Now there's a key word - hate.

Because Tome targeted a certain group of people because of their origin, his crime now qualifies as a hate crime.

That's what Waller County is going for in this case. He's been indicted for a hate crime, in addition to the capital murder charges.   

Diepraam says, "I thought it was important to make a message because any time somebody commits a crime because of hate, you need to do something about it.  You need to say that it is wrong."

The victims of Tome's alleged hate crime are 48-year old Keri Blanchard Guillory and 37-year-old Craig Randall Tippit.