'Compassionate' Texas Man Is Stabbed to Death by Hitchhiker Who Then Fled in His Truck, Police Allege

The family of Rowdy Lane Mays "finds comfort in knowing he lost his life helping someone," his obituary says

Rowdy Lane Mays. Photo: Crotty Funeral Home

Authorities in Texas have accused a 31-year-old man of fatally stabbing the 25-year-old driver who gave the suspect a ride when he was hitchhiking.

PEOPLE confirms that the Temple Police have arrested Justin Glen Boswell in Rockdale, Texas, and charged him with murder in connection with the July 28 death of Rowdy Lane Mays.

Boswell was arrested on July 30.

On July 28, Temple Police responded to reports of a stabbing and found Mays with wounds to his body and neck.

Detectives say that Mays had been injured "after picking up a hitchhiker who stabbed him and took off with his white extended cab pickup truck."

KWTX obtained a copy of Boswell's arrest affidavit, which alleges a witness at the scene went to help Mays after she saw he was wounded.

Mays apparently told the witness he had been stabbed by a hitchhiker he'd picked up at a nearby Taco Bell, and that his attacker fled in his truck.

Justin Glen Boswell. Temple Police Department

The witness reportedly saw the hitchhiker fleeing the scene in the truck and described the suspect to police as a white man with hair and facial hair that was reddish blonde.

KWTK reports that surveillance footage from the Taco Bell apparently shows Mays allowing a man to get into the bed of his pickup while Mays was in the eatery's drive-through.

Later, Mays appears to be seen in the footage parking his vehicle and inviting the man into the front passenger seat. The same man was captured by surveillance cameras purchasing a beverage at the Taco Bell earlier in the day, police said, according to KWTK.

Investigators later met with a man in Cameron, Texas, who told them he had spoken to Boswell at the fuel pumps of a gas station. Boswell, the man alleged, was acting strangely, which spurred him to write down the license plate number of the truck.

The license plate number matched the one on Mays' stolen pickup.

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Mays' pickup was later found abandoned in Rockdale, Texas.

It was unclear how police located Boswell, who is homeless, to arrest him.

Mays' online obituary notes that he was a big Dallas Cowboys fan. He attended Texas State University with plans to finish at Central Texas State College with a degree in social services.

"Rowdy enjoyed reading, history, gardening, and keeping up with social issues and injustices," reads the obituary. "He loved his family and his two dogs, Theo and Tedi. Rowdy had the most compassionate caring heart. He was always helping his family and would always help anyone in need. His family finds comfort in knowing he lost his life helping someone and feels sadness that the world lost such a kind person."

Boswell has yet to enter a plea to the murder charge, and it PEOPLE could not find information on his attorney. The suspect is being held on $1 million bond.