VALRICO, Fla (WFLA) – A Valrico man is accused of robbing a bank and strangling a 68-year-old man with a belt as he tried to get away.
A judge on Wednesday ordered James Hanson Jr. be held without bond on kidnapping and murder charges.
Hanson Jr. at first denied any involvement in the robbery but later confessed to strangling and leaving Korattiyil’s body behind a church.
“The defendant took the victim and his vehicle straight to the Sacred Heart church where he parked in the back. The defendant funder relayed the victim was asking the defendant to let him go but the defendant told him no because there are cops everywhere. The defendant relayed the victim punched him and attempted to get away at which time the defendant chased him down and strangled him with his bare hands before he used the victim’s belt to finish strangling him, ” the report says.
According to the police report, Hanson confessed to robbing the bank in an attempt to try to get money to help his sister who is being evicted, and his girlfriend who is struggling financially. Hanson told detectives he entered the bank with the intent of robbing the bank with a fake gun.
Hanson was arrested Tuesday on charges of Pre-Meditated First Degree Murder. He is also charged with Grand Theft Motor Vehicle, Kidnapping, Resisting an Officer with Violence.