They also found a toboggan with a hole cut in it, a tarp stillinside the package and a kitchen knife. He was also found found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to the, For more on this case and others like it, watch. below Ashlea's apartment and hetold police that he heard a thump, screaming and heavy breathing. He tried again a second and a third time but the smoke made it an impossible task. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Kevin Rousseau, Tarrant County prosecutor, said of their crime: 'At a minimum this took at least a month of planning. She told police that she didnot leave the apartment complex at all that day. The Court heard that when police searched Clarence's car, which was a Cadillac, they found two shovels, a box of plastic sheeting, and a box of Craftsman sockets. He followed them as Mallory drove to the Hulen Mall. Cervantes also received a sentence of life without parole at a. She quickly walks away. It was evident to us that Carter was the mastermind behind this and I think David was the muscle. ", by Chilling Crimes The key opened the dressing room and storage closet at Hulen Mall American Eagle. By
Both Mallory and Cervantez are questioned and released despite both being caught lying and contradicting each other. He then radioed for police and a crime scene unit to come to the scene. Investigators obtained a search warrant for Cervantes and Mallorys apartment and found a shopping receipt from November 21 for shovels, gloves, duct tape, rope, and a tarp. Fort Worth Police arrested two suspects in the November 28 murder of Ashlea Harris. The keyring also had the front gate key and store key on them. This was torture, prosecutor Kevin Rousseau told Snapped.. He testified that the presence ofpetechiae in Ashleas eyes reflected asphyxia or strangulation and that afractured cricoid is: the least common place wesee fractures in asphyxia or strangulation-type deaths because it consists of cartilagethat is pliable.". The comments below have not been moderated, by Chilling Crimes The deposit was somewhere between $40,000 to $50,000. He called 911 when his carbon monoxide detector wentoff and he realized there was a fire. It was approximately 6 ft. long, 2 ft wide and 3 feet deep. judgment. Dr Richard Fries, a deputy medical examiner at the Tarrant County Medical. In reviewing the malls video surveillance Detective Cedillo saw Cervantez enter the mall wearing the same clothing he had seen her leave her apartment in. While Cervantes moved six hours away to Fort Worth, Mallory stayed in Amarillo. Read More: Ashlea Harris Murder: How Did She Die? Her truck was still in the apartment complexs parking lot. Who Killed Her. At that location, Detective Cedillo found what he describes as a human grave. Police observed that she hadsuperficial scratches on her arms. The Ashlea Harris murder. Lets find out. She was wearing a grey sweatshirt and a black hat. Helived downstairs and diagonally across from Ashlea. Cervantez is being held in the Fort Worth Jail. They were scheduled to make a deposit that morning of the proceeds from the Black Friday sales. David received the same sentence on August 24, 2017. Cervantez was the first to go to trial in May 2016. Police say Harris worked a late night Black Friday shift at the American Eagle store in a mall in Fort Worth and arrived home around 3:15 a.m. A neighbor below Harris told police that he heard a thump, screaming and heavy breathing around 7:30 a.m. His carbon monoxide detector then went off, and water from the sprinklers in Harris' apartment came through his ceiling. Posted on May 27, 2016. The couple bound Harris, brutally beat her and burned her body and apartment building in order to take the woman's store keys and steal $50,000. Hetestified that it looked like a human grave. A bottle of it found near the body. s asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head and neck. December 10, 2014 / 11:07 AM . He heard the door of Ashlea's apartment close and when he looked out his window, he saw a, black Infiniti G35 driving away. According to news reports, Carter was an assistant store manager at the time, along with 31-year-oldAshlea Ann Harris. After Ashlea Harris pointed to David Mallory and Carter Cervantes as the most likely culprits to have robbed an American Eagle store, the couple was furious. Jeff Kayser to testify. This was two weeks before Ashleas murder. It was only at that point that Chris discovered that it was Carter who had hired Clarence and he found out that Clarence hadpreviously worked at an American Eagle store in Amarillo and was listed in the American Eagle system as non-rehireable." He was also found found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to the Dallas Voice newspaper. Cervantez was recently found guilty of her involvement and sentenced to life in prison without parole in May 2016, reported the Star-Telegram. The jury did not believe her. Cervantez was the assistant store manager who was to lock up the night of the theft. Carter Carol Cervantez, 27, enters court Tuesday, May 17, 2016, with defense attorneys Steve Gordon, right, and Bill Ray, not pictured. out-of-date, incorrect offense/sentence details, record expunged, etc), please send an email to: Violent Offenders: Evidence and Treatment, Prison Suicide: Methods, Risk, and Prevention, Executions and Execution Rates (by State), Childhood Psychopathy Scale (CPS) (41-Item Version), Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), Jung Self-Rating Scale for Depression (SDS), Borderline Personality Disorder Self-Report, California Psychological Inventory (Socialization), Correctional Mental Health Screening for Men, Black Guerilla Family: Prison Gang Profile, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-COG), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Geriatric Depression Scale (Short Form) (GDS-SF), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD or HAM-D), Ohio Risk Assessment System - Pretrial (ORAS-PAT), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), University of Rhode Island Change Assessment(URICA), Christina Melton Crain Unit Prison, Texas Inmates & Offenders, https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=50612977, Search is on for inmate accidentally released from Colorado jail, Search for Escaped Inmate in Ellis County, Search underway after inmate escapes in Sabine Parish, Three inmates escape Athens County correctional facility, one apprehended, Man Accused of Helping Callahan County Inmate Escape Self-Surrenders, Oklahoma DOC unveils new inmate search feature, Search continues for Inmate who escaped from Lawrence County work release, Correctional Facility or Supervision Authority, Department of Corrections Inmate / Offender Record. Harris was an assistant manager at the store. He called 911 when his carbon monoxide detector wentoff and he realized there was a fire. I didnt touch it. They were there to get the keys, said Cedillo. On the day after Thanksgiving known in the retail world as Black Friday Harris's. Norfolk Southern train derails in Springfield, Ohio, At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, Trump speaks at CPAC after winning straw poll, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant to "take some time away" from the team after allegedly brandishing a gun in a club, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Promising drug could provide alternative to statins, new study finds, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush, NTSB to investigate in-flight turbulence that left 1 passenger dead, Colombia wants to deport "cocaine hippos" to stop them from multiplying, The crime scene evidence that convicted Alex Murdaugh, Ben Renick case: World-renowned snake breeder murdered. Clarence David Mallory (age 19) had previously worked for American Eagle at their Amarillo location. They discovered that Ashlea's missing keys had the store keys on them too. Mallory and his girlfriend Carter Carol Cervantez, 28, plotted to kill Harris Harris, 31, was the store manager of an American Eagle store in Fort Worth, TX Mallory and Cervantez bound Harris . According to the show, Carter was recorded being very careful about leaving forensic evidence, even wiping a water bottle after drinking to remove her fingerprints. (Joyce Marshall)</p> Author: WFAA Staff Published:. He also described seeing the dark-colored vehicle driving away shortly after hearing Ashleas front door close. The couple had been fired from the American Eagle store at the Hulen Mall after being suspected of stealing nearly $18,000 from the store's safe in August 2014. App. They were arrested and charged with capital murder, according to the, In May 2016, 27-year-old Carter Carol Cervantes was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to, Clarence David Mallory, 22, would meet a similar fate in August 2017. Harris reported Cervantes and Mallory as the likely suspects after Carter was seen leaving a door in the back of the store unlocked, according to the Amarillo Globe-News. They were not able to open the gate and promptly left. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. But on the morning of November 28, 2014, a call came into the Fort Worth Fire Department from the River Ranch Apartments, where Harris lived. Fort Worth police, who had been staking out Cervantez s residence, followed the pair to the mall and arrested Mallory in his car outside after 3 Cervantez went inside. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Detective Cedillo spoke to Chris Cravey, who was Ashleas boss at American Eagle, and asked if he knew anyone who drove a black Infinity. Police "developed probable cause" to make the arrests, according to a release. Authorities discovered Harris' body face down on her scorched bed with her ankles and wrists bound on Nov. 28, 2014, the. Harris' hands and feet were bound in duct tape,. Her body was partially burned and she had been beaten. Detective Jerry Cedillo with the Ft. Worth Police Department Homicide Unit arrived at 10:22 am. The Court heard about Ashlea's injuries. Officers found Mallory waiting in Cervantes car in the Hulen Mall parking lot and took him into custody. When he realized it was Ashlea's apartment and when he observed her car was still parked outside, he ran upstairs and kicked her door down. Prosecutors say Cervantez and her. He moved to Ft. Worth and reunited with Carter, who allegedly falsified his social security number to cheat the system and get him employment at the Ft. Worth store. Ashlea felt that the perpetrator was Mallory. FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - A woman charged in connection to the death of a former co-worker who was beaten, bound, strangled and set afire has been found guilty. It is the13th largest city in the US. Chris was in the parking lot and had been talking to Alexis Torres, who was the last person to talk to Ashlea Harris. Then he gathered up some belongings, moved his car away from the building, and waited for the fire department to arrive. This was most likely a lighter and the accelerant was rubbing alcohol. He determined the source of all the smoke was coming from the bedroom and specifically the bed. Jeff was a neighbor and friend of Ashlea's. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. It was a black Infiniti G35 with a faded toll sticker on its roof. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Documents say the only thing missing from Harris' apartment were her keys, which contained the keys to the American Eagle store as well as the safe. Cervantezs 21 year-old boyfriend Clarence David Mallory has also been charged. Fort Worth Police Detective Jerry Cedillo was staking out the apartment on the morning of November 29 when he saw Cervantes and Mallory get in her car and drive to the Hulen Mall. It was a direct violation of the company policy, and she started facing flak for her relationship with a subordinate. Mark Sedwick, a special agent with the FBI and a member of the Cellular Analysis Survey Team, testified as to the content of texts that had been sent at 11.52amon the 28th of November between Clarence's phoneandCarter's phone: Carter's phone-Hey, remember that thing you said I didnt clean well?Did you clean it? Carter worked thereas an assistant manager and she hired her boyfriend Clarence to work at the same store. He was able to unlock the trunk of Mallorys Cadillac using keys found in the black Infiniti. The apartment was filled with smoke. The scream was followed by a loud thud and hecould hear labored breathing. Chris went over to Detective Cedillo to tell him what he knew. A few minutes later, Patrick'scarbon monoxide detector went offand he sawwater dripping from the ceiling in his bathroom. Around 7:30 am several residents of the River Ranch Apartments located at 4701 King Ranch Road called 911 to report smoke coming from apartment #1505. A woman suspected of helping kill a former co-worker on the shopping day known as Black Friday in 2014 was found guilty of capital murder Thursday and will spend the rest of her life in prison.. Fire investigator, Wallace Hood, with the Ft. Worth Fire Department arrived on the scene around 8:45 am. He thought that somebody had collected Ashlea for work. Ashlea Harris was outgoing and personable while the other assistant store manager, Carter was more straight-laced and reserved. Carter was a former employee at the American Eagle store where Ashlea worked but she was fired in August. When Ashlea arrived for work she discovered that a theft had occurred sometime overnight. After missing several shifts, he was fired and barred from working at other American Eagle stores. Communication between Mallory and Cervantez led police to a shallow hole in a town more than a hundred miles away. Ashlea Harris Murder: How Did She Die? Bill Ray, one of the attorneys who represented Cervantez, said none of the more than 400 exhibits prosecutors filed placed her in Harris' apartment at the time she was killed, the paper reports. According to local news reports,the opening manager discovered $17,850.32 had been stolen from the safe. Chris told police that a former employee at American Eagle, Carter Carol Cervantez, drove a similar car. Take out all the trash andleave that. Cravey fired Cervantez because she had left the store unsecured. Police conducted a second search of the apartment on December 4th and found a key in the kitchen trash can. They later found her at her apartment complex doing laundry. The fire had been extinguished by then. At 7:45 am he witnessed Cervantez and Mallory exit their apartment and get into the black Infinity. NBCs Black Friday chronicles how Ashlea Harris was murdered by two spiteful former co-workers, Carter Cervantez and David Mallory, in Fort Worth, Texas, in November 2014. These included the bed, the closet, and Ashleas body. Cervantez alleges that she did not commit the murder and was asleep in her apartment when Harris was robbed and killed. Carter was arrested the following day by Tarrant County deputies. They founda plastic tub that contained bungee cords and arope. our Backup, Combined Opinion from Ashlea suspended Carter and one week later, Chris called Carter and told herthat she had beenterminated for leaving the store unsecured. At Carter's Trial, her Defense was that she was not involved in Ashlea's death. Whoever was the last person to leave had locked the door behind them. Police found burn marks on her body and she had been strangled and her throat wasslit. arrived on the scene. Sign up to receive the Free Law Project newsletter with tips and announcements. When he went to touch her, he saw that her wrists and ankles were duct-taped. They found a lock in a kitchen drawer and a TASER box and some strands of duct tape in the trash. This was done while Chris Cravey was out on medical leave. He told police that Carter had gone into the mall to collect some papers but when police searched the mall, she wasn't there.