A man who allegedly beat his friend said drinking and binge-walking 'The Walking Dead' convinced him he had to stop his friend before he became a zombie.
A New Mexico man who allegedly beat his friend to death told police that drinking alcohol and watching too many episodes of TV’s The Walking Dead made him believe he needed to stop his friend before the man became a zombie, officials said.
Officers initially responded to reports of a knife-wielding man chasing a woman around an apartment complex about 1 p.m. Thursday, the Grants Police Department said in a statement.
They found Damon Perry, 23, being restrained by two maintenance men in the doorway of a first floor apartment, which apparently showed signs of a struggle, police said. They found the lifeless body of Christopher Paquin, also 23, inside the unit, cops said.
Perry told investigators that while he and Paquin were drinking, Paquin began turning into a zombie and tried to bite him, police said.
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Police said Perry used his hands, feet and “items in the home, included but not limited to edged weapons, an electric guitar and a microwave oven” to beat Paquin.
Investigators believe that once Paquin was killed, Perry left the apartment with an “edged weapon” and threatened other people in the apartment complex, which led neighbors to call 911.
Police issued a search warrant to collect a blood sample from Perry and results from the test were still pending on Monday, Grants Police Spokesman Det. Sgt. Moses Marquez told INSIDE EDITION.
“According to the suspect, no other drugs were in his system other than alcohol,” Marquez said to IE. “He attributes this to alcohol and him binge-watching the show.”
Perry told police he had watched many episodes of the popular AMC drama The Walking Dead, which centers on a zombie apocalypse, on Netflix.
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“In my opinion, I genuinely feel that he (Perry) thought that this was going on,” Marquez told IE. “This is probably one of the strangest confessions I’ve ever received. I didn’t expect this to take this turn.”
It was not clear if Perry had any prior arrests or convictions, but Marquez said Perry had prior dealings with the Grants Police Department for disorderly conduct when he was intoxicated.
“Officers have dealt with him in the past when he was intoxicated and when he was aggressive,” Marquez told IE.
Those who were close to Perry and Paquin were struggling to make sense of what had occurred.
"Sorry you had to go brother we love you and you will be missed... we appreciate what you did for us you left us so young wish you never went out like that brother," said one friend on Facebook.
"I have no idea what happened but it happened and I don't want to talk about it," said Lorian Perry, the sister of Perry and the girlfriend of Paquin.
"I'm trying to get over it. That was my boyfriend," Lorian Perry said of the victim.
Perry was charged with an open count of murder and was being detained in the Cibola County Detention Center on an $800,000 cash only bond, police said.
His arraignment is scheduled for November 3.
The law office representing Perry had no comment.
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