A Connecticut man has been found guilty of decapitating his landlord with a samurai-like sword following a quarrel over rent payment back in 2020.

Jerry Thompson was convicted Friday in the murder of Victor King, who was found dead inside his Hartford home on July 25, 2020. Friends had become concerned when they could not get in touch with him and requested that authorities perform a wellness check.

When they arrived at the residence on Asylum Avenue, officers discovered King’s body “concealed under blankets in the kitchen,” state officials said in a news release. He suffered “two serious injuries to his neck that resulted in decapitation.”

According to to an arrest report obtained by the Hartford Courant, Thompson had moved into a vacant room in King’s residence within a year of the attack. The pair argued on several occasions about Thompson not paying rent and on the day of the murder, King reported his tenant to authorities for “threatening him with a sword.”

King also called 911 several hours later, similarly complaining about Thompson.

Surveillance video also shows Thompson walking toward the home that morning with a long object in his hand, before walking back to his car in different clothes about 20 minutes later, according to prosecutors.

Thompson represented himself at trial and filed papers declaring the state had no jurisdiction over him, according to The Register Citizen of Torrington. At the time of his arrest, he told police he was a “sovereign citizen,” a term used by some who assert that the U.S. government is illegitimate and that its laws don’t bind them.

He is due back in court for sentencing in October.

With News Wire Services