HOUSTON — Houston police arrested a 51-year-old man in connection with the death of a 21-year-old Nepali student who was found shot to death in her apartment Monday evening.
According to court documents, Bobby Sinh Shah, 51, is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Muna Pandey, 21, during an armed robbery on Saturday.
Police said officers went to the complex after employees there received a tip about a body in an apartment. Pandey was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in her apartment on West Airport Boulevard in southwest Houston around 5:30 p.m. Monday.
On Wednesday, the Houston Police Department released a surveillance photo of a man seen leaving the apartment on Saturday, who police later learned was Shah.
Shah was arrested on Wednesday evening during a traffic stop in northwest Houston. He was taken to the Harris County Jail.
RELATED: Friends identify Nepali student, Muna Pandey, who was found shot to death in her Houston apartment
Members of the tight-knit Nepali community in Houston shared photos and details about Pandey’s life with KHOU 11’s Jason Miles.
According to Drona Gautam with the Nepalese Association of Houston, Pandey moved to Houston from Nepal in 2021 for school. She was a student at Houston Community College.
He was stunned to learn about her violent death.
“She had like three gunshots and she was laying down on the bed, with head down,” Gautam said. “Hopefully, the investigation will come up with some idea of how this happened.”
He believes Pandey may have been killed days before her body was found because her mother in Nepal hadn’t been able to reach her.
“What mom said is her phone was always online. After Saturday night, phone was offline,” Gautam said.
There were no signs of forced entry when he and others visited the scene.
Gautam said he’s working with the Nepal consulate to help coordinate travel for Pandey’s mother.
“This is very unfortunate to her because she’s the only child. She’s the only one child of the mother – so she’s very devastated,” Gautam told us.
Pandey’s death is reverberating in the Nepali community on social media and at places like Kathmandu Curry & Bar where she was well known.
“It’s very bad news,” owner Ram Sapkota said.
He first met Pandey shortly after she arrived in Houston.
“She was very smart, loyal, honest, and you know, we lost her. We’re very sad,” Sapkota told us.
Friends in the Nepali community set up an online fundraiser to help Pandey’s family with travel and funeral expenses. Here is their GoFundMe.
“We’re devastated.” Many in Houston’s Nepali community are mourning 21-year-old Muna Pandey, who came here for school. They say she’s the young lady found fatally shot MON night at her SW side apartment. HPD released a photo of the suspect. More on @KHOU at 4 + 5 #khou11pic.twitter.com/YWlT98HzAq
— Jason Miles (@JMilesKHOU) August 28, 2024
WANTED: Homicide detectives are searching for this male in the fatal shooting of a woman at 6363 West Airport Blvd. on Monday (Aug. 26). Tips: Call HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or @Crimestophou at 713-222-TIPS. More info: https://t.co/iTbUiSsCHf#HouHewspic.twitter.com/scriwZt0qN
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 28, 2024