FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – A man wanted in the murder of a prominent Dallas attorney has been arrested in Broward County.
Steven Aubrey, 61, faces a murder charge in the death of Ira Tobolowsky who was found dead, burned alive, in his own garage nearly six years ago.
In 2016, Aubrey was involved in a legal battle with his own family members who were being represented by Tobolowsky. The 68-year-old lawyer filed a defamation suit against Aubrey over alleged threats and harassment.
So when the lawyer was doused with gasoline and set on fire inside of the garage of his North Dallas home, homicide detectives quickly zeroed in on Aubrey.
“Aubrey was questioned. He declined to talk with our detectives when he was brought in for questioning, but he was a person of interest in the case,” said Dallas Police Assistant Director of Public Information Kristin Lowman.
In a search of Aubrey’s home, investigators seized propane gas tanks and a power drill. Authorities believed someone had been spying on Tobolowsky through a hole cut in his backyard fence.
Dallas police said the more they followed the leads and developed new evidence, the more it pointed them to Aubrey.
“We’re not going to get into the actual nitty-gritty of what that piece of evidence was, but it was just developing information, evidence, and having probable cause in order to make that arrest,” said Lowman.
Aubrey has publicly denied involvement in the murder. Detectives are working to extradite him back to Dallas.