Sex offender suspected in 87-year-old’s slaying had told Dallas authorities he lived next door

The man who is suspected of fatally beating an 87-year-old east Oak Cliff woman is a registered sex offender who previously told authorities he lived next door to the victim, and Dallas police believe he may have had access to a key to her house.

Andre Stefan Buggs, 58, faces a murder charge in the slaying of Anita Thompson, who was found dead Tuesday in her home in the 4100 block of Fortune Lane.

Buggs turned himself in to authorities Sunday, and he remained in custody Monday at the Dallas County jail. He also faces a charge of failing to register as a sex offender, and his total bail is set at $550,000.

A court-appointed attorney for Buggs declined to comment, saying it was too early in the case.

According to an arrest-warrant affidavit, a friend discovered Thompson’s body after checking on her because she didn’t answer her phone. All of the home’s doors and windows were locked, the affidavit says.

One neighbor told police he’d seen a man knocking on Thompson’s front door that morning and later saw the same man walking around to the back of her house.

Another neighbor told police that Buggs had spent the previous night at his house and that he had been wearing clothes that matched the description given by the first neighbor. Later that day, the second neighbor said, Buggs waved him down for a ride and said he’d broken into a home, the affidavit says.

Detectives obtained surveillance video from a house across the street from Thompson’s home. The video showed the man described by the witnesses walk from the backyard into the house while carrying a large object, then leave the house empty-handed about three minutes later, according to the affidavit. Police found a large, bloody piece of concrete near Thompson’s body, the affidavit says.

Buggs was convicted in 1996 of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and served a decade in prison. After his release, he was required to report to authorities every 90 days to verify his address.

In March, he listed his mother’s home — next door to Thompson’s house — as his address. But after he failed to report to authorities in June, they spoke to his mother, who said he’d moved out of the home years ago to live with his girlfriend.

A detective noted in the affidavit that Buggs’ mother had a spare key to Thompson’s home.

Thompson’s daughter, Oletha Morrow, has said that her mother had known Buggs’ family for more than 40 years and that she was “numb and hurt” to learn he was the suspect.

”I don’t hold anything against his family. His mother was good to my mom,” Morrow said. “They had been friends for years.”

The day before she was killed, Thompson had called police about an attempted break-in. The window on her back door had been broken, Morrow said.

According to police, Thompson opted to make an expedited report over the phone, so no officers were sent to her home.