A central Phoenix apartment complex became the focus of a murder investigation after a man was struck by his SUV.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A Sunday afternoon at a central Phoenix apartment complex turned into a homicide investigation when a man was run over by his own SUV after a dating-app meeting, police said.
The victim, 52-year-old Norris L. Taft, was found critically injured May 3 in a parking lot near 16th Street and Maryland Avenue. Phoenix police later arrested Mikela Antresa Bahe, 30, in Flagstaff. She is accused of second-degree murder, theft of means of transportation and failure to remain at the scene of a fatal accident.
The scene described by police was ordinary until the SUV moved. The apartment complex sits near a busy Phoenix corridor with homes, shops and steady traffic. Officers arrived around 4:08 p.m. after a report of a collision involving a pedestrian. They found Taft badly hurt on the pavement. Firefighters treated him and took him to a nearby hospital, where he died. The SUV that struck him was gone. Witness reports and surveillance footage soon changed the case from a fatal crash into an alleged killing. A 911 caller reported that a dark-colored SUV had run over a man and fled. Apartment video showed a woman walking from the building into the parking lot and getting into the Cadillac Escalade, according to court documents described by local media. Taft then came into view, stepped in front of the vehicle and held out his arms as if trying to stop it.
Police said the SUV kept moving. The vehicle accelerated, struck Taft, dragged him under it and drove over him before leaving the complex. Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez, a Phoenix police spokesperson, said homicide detectives believe the driver intentionally hit Taft. That statement placed the parking-lot footage at the center of the case and made the physical setting important: a short distance, a visible pedestrian and a driver leaving instead of stopping.
The events leading to the parking lot began with an online meeting. Taft had connected with a woman on MocoSpace, according to information his nephew gave investigators. The nephew said Taft called him earlier that day and said he was going to meet her. After the pickup, Taft sent another message saying the woman did not look like the person from the app and that he believed he had been catfished. He indicated he wanted to take her back or end the date.
Police identified the woman as Bahe through records and video from the couple’s stops before the crash. Investigators said Taft picked her up near 23rd Avenue and Thomas Road in the black Escalade. The pair went to a Curaleaf dispensary on Camelback Road and a Shell gas station on Seventh Street. Security video showed a woman matching Bahe’s appearance at those businesses, and dispensary records identified Bahe as a customer. The paper and video trail placed her with Taft before the fatal encounter.
After the SUV left the parking lot, investigators followed another trail. Police said airport security video showed Bahe at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport boarding a shuttle headed to Flagstaff. Flagstaff officers arrested her May 6, three days after Taft’s death. She was taken back into the Maricopa County system and held on a $1 million cash bond, according to local reports citing jail and court records.
Bahe told investigators she remembered being with Taft and being in Phoenix, but said she did not remember what happened after they left the dispensary, court documents said. Police said she gave the same answer even after seeing the apartment video. Investigators also alleged Bahe called a relative after the incident and said she had done something wrong and was going to prison. Authorities have not released a full recording or transcript of that call.
The death left several overlapping investigations. Homicide detectives examined the crash, the alleged intent and the movements of the people involved. Traffic investigators had to consider vehicle path, speed, impact and scene evidence. Prosecutors reviewed whether the evidence supported murder rather than a lesser driving offense. The vehicle theft allegation added another question: how Bahe allegedly gained control of the Escalade and why the SUV left the lot. Police said the registered owner of the Escalade told investigators only Taft had permission to use it. That account matters because Bahe is not only accused of striking Taft but also of taking the vehicle afterward. Local reports said the SUV had not been found in the days after the arrest. Its recovery could help investigators confirm physical damage, collect forensic evidence and compare the vehicle to the parking-lot video.
The catfishing allegation added a sharp detail to public attention, but police have not publicly settled what the dating-app profile showed, who created it or what Bahe allegedly said about it before the crash. Investigators also have not released the full message history between Taft and the account. What is known from the public record is narrower: Taft told a family member he believed the person he met did not match the online profile, and he wanted the encounter to end.
For Taft’s family, the case moved from a short message about a bad date to a police call about a fatal crash. For the apartment complex, the parking lot became a mapped scene of video angles, witness accounts and vehicle movement. For prosecutors, the same pavement is now part of a murder case that depends on showing the driver’s actions were intentional or knowingly dangerous.
Bahe remained in custody as the case moved forward in Maricopa County. Police said the investigation was continuing, with the missing SUV, surveillance evidence and court proceedings expected to define the next stage.
Author note: Last updated May 28, 2026.