Man Travels 3,400 Miles In 72 Hours To Kill Teen He Met Gaming Online, Police Say

Police have released the identity of the man they say made a 3,400-mile round trip from his home in Pleasanton, California, to Flower Mound, Texas, within 72 hours to kill a teen boy he met online.

Shortly before 6 a.m. on Aug. 18, a person wearing a helmet and jeans set a propane tank on fire at Matthew Thane’s Flower Mound home in order to lure the 18-year-old outside and fatally shoot him, The Mercury News reported.

“Early in the investigation, police were led to an acquaintance of the victim, who he met through online gaming,” the Flower Mound Police Department said in a news release.

A day after the murder, detectives examined cell phone data that allegedly showed Alexander Frank Baro, 23, had made a trip between the two towns, which takes about 25 hours each way.

Law enforcement in both jurisdictions worked together to obtain a search warrant for Baro’s home, but the suspect “took his own life as police were attempting to have him exit his residence,” an FMPD news release states.

Flower Mound Police Capt. Shane Jennings has said detectives theorized Baro, who is the sole suspect in the murder case, may have had a dispute with Thane over an online game.

A GoFundMe page set up for the victim noted the teenager was “such a unique character, one of a kind” who “never failed to put a smile on someone’s face and brighten their day.”

The investigation into Thane’s death is ongoing.