Jeff, Wallace E. Hood Jr., an arson investigator, told the Court that, multiple origins of the fire, including in the bed, on Ashleas body, and in the closet. The Prosecutor,Kevin Rousseau,told the Jury: "There are no good murders. Harris' hands and feet were bound in duct tape, reports CBS affiliate KHOU, which cites court documents filed by Fort Worth police. Chicwanda Forbes; Carter Cervantez: With Iyana A. Campbell, Jordan Clifford, Herbert Lee Frazier III, Reginald Garner. Mallory was found guilty along with his girlfriendCarter Carol Cervantez, 28, of killing the American Eagle store manager, who they both worked with, on Black Friday in 2014. The Prosecution called Jeff Kayser to testify. It turns out that Clarence was also a former employee of American Eagle. Cedillo went to the American Eagle store where Harris' boss was waiting for the owners to open up. The only thing missing from Ashlea's apartment were her keys. She told the Jury that he controlled her and even told her when she could eat or drink. Somehow they avoided looking up at the camera. 27-year-old old Carter Carol Cervantez is on trial for capital murder in the. The two disappeared after the theft and were not arrested until police tracked them down on Dec. 6. Shes the one that coordinated everything and came up with the plan.As per official court records, she, 34, is serving her sentence at the Dr. Lane Murray Unit in Gatesville, Texas. He heard the door of Ashlea's apartment close and when he looked out his window, he saw a, black Infiniti G35 driving away. Cervantezs 21 year-old boyfriend Clarence David Mallory has also been charged. When he went to see why the smoke detector had not gone off he noticed it had been removed and placed under the mattress. Ashlea felt that the perpetrator was Mallory. She and her. Police could not find Cervantez inside the mall but found her later in the laundry room at her apartment; surveillance video confirmed she had walked the two miles home. However, their jobs did not last long when they were allegedly found suspects of a robbery that took place in the store on August 24, 2014. She claims that Mallory drove her to the Hulen Mall not once, but twice. Both are held on a $100,000 bond. A few minutes later, Patrick's. Steven Lee was an ex-cop who lived downstairs and diagonally across from Ashlea Harris. Detective Cedillo drove there and he found a hole that had been dug that measuredsix feet long, two and a half feet wide, and three feet deep. the Court. Fort Worth Police arrested two suspects in the November 28 murder of Ashlea Harris. These included a black trash bag, a sharpening stone for a knife, a 9mm cartridge, a cell phone, a walkie-talkie, a buck knife sheath, a plastic tub, mens boots that had a cell phone in them, clothing, a toboggan with a hole cut in it, a tarp still inside the package and a kitchen knife. After that, she went to work. A break came when one of Harris neighbors told police that on the morning of the murder, he noticed a black, two-door Infiniti parked in the apartment complexs parking lot which didnt belong to any of the residents. As a result of his incompetency, he was fired, and American Eagle put him on the Do Not Hire Again list. Carter and David were convicted of beating, strangling, and bounding Ashlea and setting fire to her4701 King Ranch Road apartment onNovember 28, 2014, morning. | Store 'They slash her throat and then, when she is finally dead, they set her place on fire. He was eventually labeled as non-rehirable in the American Eagle system. The prosecution alleged Carter to be the mastermind behind the homicide. When he left for work around 7:30 am the car was still there. These included a receipt for a cutaway practice lock that had been mailed to Cervantez & Mallorys apartment and a lock picking instruction manual. Cervantes also received a sentence of life without parole at a. Police searched their apartment. He ruled out accidental causes for the reason for the fire and concluded that the fire was set on purpose. The inside of the apartment and Ashlea's body led police to believe that the fire was not an accidental fire. A downstairs neighbor, Patrick Sweet, was lying in bed when he heard a loud scream. Saturday Tarrant County Sheriffs arrested 25-year-old Carter Carol Cervantez. On Tax Free Weekend and Black Friday, those were our highest deposit days, said Groen. Police have said they believe that Cervantez, 27, and Clarence David Mallory, 21, beat and bound Harris and then set her body on fire to steal her keys . She switched his first name with his middle name and changed two digits of his social security number. The surveillance video from the front of the American Eagle store showed that at around 2amonthe 29th of November, someone with a covered face knelt down next to the lock on the gate and attempted to unlock and raise the gate.They were unsuccessful as the locks had been changed. Cervantez is being held in the Fort Worth Jail. | Link Errors Detective Cedillo decided to stake out Cervantez and Mallorys apartment arriving around 3:45 am on Saturday, November 29, 2014. Another video from Texas Appliances on the north side of the mall captures Cervantez walking away from the mall towards her apartment. Her bond was set at $500,000. A key belonging to another assistant store manager was left in the night deposit box. When he went to touch her, he saw that her wrists and ankles were duct-taped. It had its lights off as it left the parking space in front of Ashleas apartment. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Carter Carol Cervantez v. State - CourtListener.com Carter Carol Cervantez v. State, 02-16-00224-CR (Tex. Firefighters found her strangled and burned body early in the morning on Nov. 28. For more on this case and others like it, watch "Snapped," airing Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen, or stream episodes here. The scream was followed by a loud thud and hecould hear labored breathing. Her lover, David, continued working at the Amarillo store but began to miss shifts regularly. One week later Cravey called Cervantez. They were caught within days after several witnesses identified their vehicle to be present at the crime scene and supplied the police with a strong motive for them to commit the homicide. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. A friend of hers, Alexis Torres came over. This was somebody who killed her out of anger. They both pleaded not guilty. On the day after Thanksgiving known in the retail world as Black Friday Harris's. Zach Shallcross Struggles to Watch Himself Dancing Terribly on The Bachelor, Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine, Alison Brie on Sex Scenes: 'We Are Actors, This Is Our Job'. Carter was a former employee at the American Eagle store where Ashlea worked but she was fired in August. Mallory drove the car to another mall exit. Clarence Mallory Jr. and Carter Cervantez are accused of murdering Ashlea Harris after she left her job late at night at a mall in Fort Worth. While the homicide took place nearly 6 hours. Steven W. Conder. 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. She denied being at the Hulen Mall that morning. Harris autopsy pointed to a rage killing. I need to take care ofthat. Listen to the story of how Ashlea Harris fought for her life upsetting the plans of two nefarious killers who wanted a big pay off. They discovered that Ashlea's missing keys had the store keys on them too. I think theres a fire upstairs in the apartment above me, the caller said in his 911 call, which was obtained by Snapped.. He testified that the presence of. She was savagely beaten. Mallory and Cervantez reportedly also stole $18,000 from the same store in August of 2014. November 8th, 2018, Precedential Status: She was taken to the station for questioning. Cervantes also received a sentence of life without parole at a. She was strangled, her throat cut, and ultimately asphyxiated. Combined Opinion from 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. Text messages obtained from Cervantes and Mallorys phones showed them plotting Harris murder as part of a planned Black Friday heist. Mallory threatened to hurt her parents and relatives if she did not do what she was told, Cervantez said. They found ample evidence in both places, including a gun used to pistolwhip Ashlea, receipts for a murder kit, including the duct tape used to bind her, and her blood on the floor mat of their vehicle. Wallace also determined that the ignition source was an open flame. 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. It took them just two hours to find her guilty and she was sentenced tolife in prison without parole. I said, Can you tell me anything? He said, Ill ask you a question, does Jeremiah 29:11 mean anything to you? And I just fell down. s asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head and neck. 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. Kevin Rousseau, Tarrant County prosecutor, said of their crime: 'At a minimum this took at least a month of planning. She was blamed as the mastermind behind the murder plot by prosecutors. 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. Due to that, they wanted to speak to the owner of the Infiniti G35. Forth Worth was originally settled in 1849 as a US Army outpost to protect pioneers settling out west. Carter Carol Cervantez, 27, testified that she was asleep at the time of the murder of Ashlea Harris and was forced into the robbery by her boyfriend, 21-year-old Clarence David Mallory, the Fort. Carter Carol Cervantez is a 33 year-old who was listed as being under the supervision of the department of corrections in Christina Melton Crain Unit Prison, Texas. The scream was followed by a loud thud and he, could hear labored breathing. He asked if she would be willing to go downtown to be interviewed and she agreed. 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. She raises three points on appeal: (1) the trial court erred by denying her counsel's motion to withdraw based on the State's failure to comply with the Michael Morton Act; (2) the trial court erred by admitting recorded statements of her . Harris' hands and feet were bound in duct tape,. 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August 20, 2021, "Evil people always support each other; that is their chief strength.". They soon determined that Ashlea Harris had suffered blunt force trauma to her face and head, her throat had been cut, and her body partially burned. In August 2014, a hooded burglar had stolen $18,000 from the American Eagle Hulen Mall store following Texas Sales Tax Holiday Weekend. It was a black Infiniti G35. She admitted that she tried to access the American Eagle store but claimed she only did so because Clarence threatened to kill her if she didn't . This was two weeks before Ashleas murder. Harris was found dead in her apartment several hours later when firefighters responded to a fire alarm. He heard a scream at around 7.30am. Today it marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. For that reason, the fire seemed like an afterthought to me, Fort Worth Police Detective Ernie Pate told Snapped.. He was able to determine that the fire had multiple points of origin. 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Video surveillance of the mall showed that at 2 am on Saturday morning someone tried to open the security gate at American Eagle. Surveillance cameras caught her wiping down the bottle after drinking from it in order to remove any traces of DNA. One of Harris friends had stopped by after Ashlea got off work on Thanksgiving night and stayed until around 5 a.m. Please E-mail suggested additions, comments and/or corrections to Kent@MoreLaw.Com. After he missed three scheduled shifts after the burglary, he and her lover were terminated, and Carters managers keys were confiscated. Law Project, a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit. Detective Jerry Cedillo with the Ft. Worth Police Department Homicide Unit arrived at 10:22 am. Cervantes was allowed to go home. The Court heard the two of them returned to the mall at 8am and at that point, were being followed by the police, unbeknownst to them. Who Killed Her? Police observed that she hadsuperficial scratches on her arms. However, things went awry after she hired a teen employee named Clarence David Mallory Jr., then 19, and started dating him, as per local reports. They raped her for not following through with the robbery. Carter was a former employee at the American Eagle store where Ashlea worked but she was fired in August. Cravey fired Cervantez because she had left the store unsecured. What did they all have in common on Black Friday 2014? Cervantes had worked at American Eagle Outfitters for several years and managed a store in Amarillo, Texas. She told the Court she did not kill Ashlea and played no part in her death. I didnt touch it. Video from American Eagle picks her up approaching the gate. ", by Chilling Crimes Knives and a loaded gun were found inside Cervantes Infiniti while the shovels and other items were in the trunk of Mallorys vehicle. Prosecutors charged Cervantez with murder one and did not seek the death penalty. Chris went over to Detective Cedillo to tell him what he knew. Chris looked at Clarence'spersonnel fileanddiscovered thatwhen Carterhired him, she changed his Social Security number and his name in the system so that it would not be detected or show up any red flags. Cravey indicated that he did. Harris apartment showed no signs of forced entry and none of her valuables were missing. Carter Carol Cervantez is on trial this week on a capital murder charge in the slaying of Ashlea Ann Harris, 31, on Nov. 28, 2014, the day after Thanksgiving, known commercially as Black Friday. She told police that she didnot leave the apartment complex at all that day. There were also no signs that a taser had been used on her. Clarence David Mallory, 22, was sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars in the death of Ashlea Ann Harris, 31, in a Fort Worth, Texas, courtroom on Thursday. The two. Then he gathered up some belongings, moved his car away from the building, and waited for the fire department to arrive. She stole Ashleas keys to commit another theft with an even bigger payoff. Joyce Marshall jlmarshall@star-telegram.com FORT WORTH. Ashlea immediately contacted loss prevention, Chris Cravey, and the district manager. Under the drivers seat was a 9mm Glock with a round still in the chamber. And when she did not do what she was told, they returned to their apartment, where Mallorys friends raped her repeatedly, Cervantez testified. Cervantez was the assistant store manager who was to lock up the night of the theft. Ashlea went through the surveillance footage and alleged Carter and David to be the burglars, as Carter was seen leaving the back door of the store unlocked when she took the garbage out the night before. Take out all the trash andleave that. It showed Cervantez buying two shovels, a rope, bungee cords, gloves, and a tarp. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. He thought that somebody had collected Ashlea for work. Chris was in the parking lot and had been talking to Alexis Torres, who was the last person to talk to Ashlea Harris. Detective Cedillo testified that one of the text messages on Clarence's cell phone contained latitude and longitude coordinates and when he entered them into Google Earth, it revealed a locationnear Lueders, Texas. Carter Carol Cervantez appeals from her jury conviction for capital murder and automatic life sentence. But Carter never forgave Ashlea, with Leticia saying, She was the one that you wanted to like you because if you got on her bad side, there was no coming back from it. From Free Law Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. 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. If you believe this Record is in error (i.e. Chicwanda Forbes has worked hard to make a life for herself in New Orleans, until an older man offers her the attention she craves in exchange for her loyalty. He then radioed for police and a crime scene unit to come to the scene. It was their case that they wanted her keys to steal the money from the store but also that they wanted revenge after they held Ashlea responsible for them losing their jobs. Patrick testified that he thought about what he should do. So he laid back down to try to fall back asleep, but thats when the carbon monoxide detector went off. When Detective Cedillo entered the coordinates it came up to a specific location near Lueders, Texas. Carter's case was heard first. The Autopsy revealed that Ashleahad numerous injuries on her body including but not limited toa laceration on the right side of her scalp, on her cheek and the left side of her face and a patterned bruise on the right side of her face, a bruise between her eyes and around her left eye. They werent supposed to be dating because she controlled his pay, she controlled how much he worked, and she would just give him more preferential treatment. By this time, Mallory had failed to show up for work on three consecutive days when he was scheduled. She workedas an assistant managerin an American Eagle store in the Hulen Mall. But surveillance video confirmed she was not being truthful and it showed her leaving the mall and walking towards her home. The neighbor attempted several times to get into Ashleas apartment but was forced out each time due to the heavy smoke. His name was Clarence David Mallory. At that location, Detective Cedillo found what he describes as a human grave. Hetestified that it looked like a human grave. They originally planned to bury Harris at a grave site detectives found north of Abilene, Texas. Various documents were found. Protect yourself and those you love. A break came when one of Harris neighbors told police that on the morning of the murder, he noticed a black, two-door Infiniti parked in the apartment complexs parking lot which didnt belong to any of the residents. By 2011, she was an assistant manager at an American Eagle Outfitters store at Fort Worths Hulen Mall. Alexis usually watched Ashleas dog Nala when she worked. According to local news reports,the opening manager discovered $17,850.32 had been stolen from the safe. He also described seeing the dark-colored vehicle driving away shortly after hearing Ashleas front door close. He told police he was smoking a cigarette at 6:30 am when he noticed a car in the parking lot he had never seen before. 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. While they were let go initially, the investigators had search warrants for their apartment and car. a plastic tub that contained bungee cords and arope. 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. After more evidence is gathered they are arrested on December 4, 2014. He opened a window in the bedroom to air it out. The two reunited in Fort Worth and moved in together. / CBS News/AP. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. I became interested in this case after listening to Dateline Podcast from November 29, 2019 episode entitled Black Friday. I had some questions that werent answered on the show and thought Id see what I could find. Posted on May 27, 2016. A mysterious fire, missing keys, and a black sports car. Ashlea Ann Harris was murdered Nov. 28, 2014, by Clarence David Mallory, 22, and his co-defendant, Carter Carol Cervantes, 28. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! They were not able to open the gate and promptly left. Police had to establish if they were involved in Ashlea's death what the motive was. 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. Water was spraying from the overhead sprinkling system, but Ashlea did not answer when he called out to her. Police believed they were used for practice as theywerelabeled lock picking practice lock.. 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. Ashleas friend Alexis, who was the last to see her at close to 5 am, told police that Ashlea usually left her keys and wallet on her kitchen counter. Examiners Officer, performed the Autopsy on Ashleas body. The deposit was somewhere between $40,000 to $50,000. Sign up to receive the Free Law Project newsletter with tips and announcements. He took photos of the various items found in the car. Lets find out. While Cervantes moved six hours away to Fort Worth, Mallory stayed in Amarillo. However, the police arrested David in the mall parking area after finding he carried no license, and officers went to their apartment and brought Carter in for questioning. Cervantez said Mallory put the gun in her face and tried to make her steal money from the store. 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. The Court heard about Ashlea's injuries.
One of her former co-workers, Leticia Groen, explained, They werent supposed to be dating because she controlled his pay, she controlled how much he worked, and she would just give him more preferential treatment. The key opened the dressing room and storage closet at Hulen Mall American Eagle. Officers found Mallory waiting in Cervantes car in the Hulen Mall parking lot and took him into custody. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jeff Kayser to testify. Prosecutors for the case showed surveillance video of Cervantez buying shovels and other gear on November 21st, with the intention of digging a grave for Harris. The Jury heard that a. t 6.56am,Alexishad a missed call from Ashlea and when she noticed it, Another neighbor, Patrick Sweet, also testified. The comments below have not been moderated, by Chilling Crimes It was the Prosecution's case that Carter and Clarencehad a couple of different reasons to want to harm Ashlea. Alexis Torres Bunch. He testified that at around 7.30am on the 28th of November, he woke when heheard a loud scream. 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. arrived on the scene. It was then he saw a body. The day after Harris' murder, Cervantez was caught by surveillance cameras trying to open the doors to the store, but they had already changed the locks. Cervantez was the first to go to trial in May 2016. The 31-year-old was an assistant manager at the American Eagle Outfitters store in the Abilene mall in Texas. So why did they kill Ashlea? She was inside getting some paperwork she needed to complete. This case has not yet been cited in our system. Dr Richard Fries, a deputy medical examiner at the Tarrant County Medical. Our district manager basically gave her the option to quit or to get transferred. Carter chose to get a transfer and was shifted to a store in the Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, Texas. A. loaded Glock 19 with a bullet in the chamber was found under the driver's seat. When she tried to call her back Ashlea didnt pick up. Cervantez also testified that Mallory raped her when she didn't do what he wanted. Clarence David Mallory, 22, would meet a similar fate in August 2017. It was a direct violation of the company policy, and she started facing flak for her relationship with a subordinate. rely on donations for our financial security. There was a cut on the right side of Ashlea's neck which was caused by a knife and bruises and abrasions on her neck, chest and right arm.
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