Man on ‘Sugar Daddy’ website accused of murdering woman, 21, in Houston apartment

The accused was arrested wearing the blood-soaked clothes the suspect wore in the video

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Published Sep 09, 2024  •  2 minute read

TRAGIC: Muna Pandey was murdered, allegedly by a sugar daddy. FACEBOOK

Cops say Bobby Shah couldn’t help himself.

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The 51-year-old is accused of capital murder in the brutal Aug. 26 murder of 21-year-old Muna Pandey inside her Houston apartment.

Pandey — an only child from Nepal — was studying nursing at Houston Community College.

According to police, she had been shot three times in the torso with a coup de grace in the back of her head.

Tragic Muna Pandey. FACEBOOK

CCTV footage from the murdered woman’s front door of a male suspect was released, and a female tipster called homicide detectives claiming she knew Shah from a “Sugar Daddy” website. Pandey’s boss at a local restaurant also recognized Shah.

The owner said Shah was a regular who gave female servers he liked large tips.

When cops arrested Shah on Aug. 28 during a routine traffic stop, they said he was wearing the blood-soaked clothes the suspect wore in the video. The footage showed him approaching her door armed with a pistol.

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Cops say CCTV caught Bobby Shah leaving the Pandey apartment. HPD

The Sugar Daddy sites provide a service that allows young women to hook up with much older men. The men often receive sexual favours while the sugar babies would receive cash, gifts and trips.

However, detectives said it wasn’t clear at this point whether Pandey and Shah had a pre-existing sexual relationship.

After arriving at Pandey’s apartment, Shah allegedly held the student at gunpoint as she gripped a shoe box, shopping bag, black jacket and purse. He then locked them into the apartment.

If convicted, Bobby Shah faces the big adios via lethal injection. HPD

Cops say Shah emerged an hour later carrying Pandey’s purse.

Now, he could potentially face the death penalty in Texas if convicted. Pandey’s friends and family have nothing but contempt for the accused killer.

“How could that person do it?” friend Donna Gautam told reporters. “I cannot even think about it.”

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Friends and family described Muna Pandey as loving. FACEBOOK

Prosecutor Rebecca Marshall added: “I can only imagine what Muna’s mother is going through being halfway across the world, so I wanted them to know what would happen in court, what they could expect.”

The victim’s mother is demanding that Shah receive the maximum punishment.

Pals described Pandey as “loving” and “confident.” None of the friends contacted by reporters knew Shah or the nature of any possible relationship between him and Pandey.

The victim’s mother believed her daughter was in a relationship with a white American man. Pandey was worried about the stability of the relationship.

MUNA PANDEY. FACEBOOK

Pandey moved to the United States in 2021 for her undergraduate degree. She never returned to Nepal but had planned a visit after she completed her degree.

Meanwhile, prosecutors insisted that bail be denied until he’s back in court in December.

“I felt it was incumbent upon us to definitely ask for no bail in this case,” Marshall said, according to Click2Houston. “I believe he poses a grave risk of danger to our community.”

His lawyer said Shah — who moved to the U.S. from India as a child — is innocent.

“He was a v-p at a company, and I’m not at liberty to give that name, but he’s a pretty smart guy, well-educated, very articulate,” Wilvin J. Carter said.

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