Mallory threatened to hurt her parents and relatives if she did not do what she was told, Cervantez said. Who Killed Her. Cervantes was allowed to go home. Cravey and Ashlea watched the store surveillance video. It didn't last long. The two reunited in Fort Worth and moved in together. It was evident to us that Carter was the mastermind behind this and I think David was the muscle. It took them just two hours to find her guilty and she was sentenced tolife in prison without parole. The two disappeared after the theft and were not arrested until police tracked them down on Dec. 6. Fire investigator, Wallace Hood, with the Ft. Worth Fire Department arrived on the scene around 8:45 am. So what was the motive for such a savage attack? He told the Court that he lived in an apartment just, below Ashleas apartment. It is the13th largest city in the US. She told the Court she did not kill Ashlea and played no part in her death. | Advertising 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. One week later Cravey called Cervantez. 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. Ashlea had been murdered and her body and apartment had been set on fire. Ashlea was the mom of the store. Patrick Sweet lived in the apartmentbelow Ashlea's apartment and hetold police that he heard a thump, screaming and heavy breathing. SHARE NEXT UP Young Woman in the Center of a Murder | For My Man S6/EP27 | Airdate: Nov 29, 2021 <span>Runtime: 00:01:30</span> It turns out that Clarence was also a former employee of American Eagle. At 7:45 am he witnessed Cervantez and Mallory exit their apartment and get into the black Infinity. She transferred to the Hulen Mall location and held an assistant store manager position. Blood was found on the floor mats of Cervantes car. She told the Jury that he controlled her and even told her when she could eat or drink. She was later found in her apartment complex. She was wearing a grey sweatshirt and a black hat. The following correctional supervision record (the "Record") was collected from the official state department of corrections website (see below for source link). | Recent Lawyer Listings Carter Carol Cervantez, 26, and Clarence David Mallory, 19, are both being held on $600,000 bond. While they were let go initially, the investigators had search warrants for their apartment and car. with the Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office testified to Ashlea Harriss cause of death. Police discovered that thirty one year old Ashlea Ann Harris lived in the apartment that was on fire. The comments below have not been moderated, by Chilling Crimes 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. After that, she went to work. The Prosecution claimed that person was Carter. Wallace E. Hood Jr., an arson investigator, told the Court thathe locatedmultiple origins of the fire, including in the bed, on Ashleas body, and in the closet. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Helived downstairs and diagonally across from Ashlea. Ashlea Ann Harris loved working in retail where she could meet new people every day. 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. Carter Carol Cervantez, 25, was taken into custody by Tarrant County Sheriffs on Saturday. Ashlea's ankles were also bound with duct tape. 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. 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. It matched Ashlea Harris' DNA. Then they turned their sights on Harris, who held the store keys, for their plot to make off with tens of thousands of dollars. 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. ", by Chilling Crimes 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. The Court heard that the car was still there when Steven left for work after 7.30am. 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 . One of Harris friends had stopped by after Ashlea got off work on Thanksgiving night and stayed until around 5 a.m. 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. Police have charged Carter Carol Cervantez, 25, and her boyfriend Clarence "David" Mallory, 19, with capital murder in the death of their former co-worker, Ashlea Harris, 31. Both denied knowing anything about the homicide and claimed to be together on Thanksgiving, having dinner and watching movies. 27-year-old old Carter Carol Cervantez is on trial for capital murder in the. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Cedillo went to the American Eagle store where Harris' boss was waiting for the owners to open up. She was tentatively identified by her tattoos. He is 22 years old. | Store Greed and Hatred Uncovered in Ashlea Harris Murder, A First Look at the Murder of Ashlea Harris, Co-worker Describes Clarence David Mallory: He Seemed Genuine, She was the really cute, fun, outgoing person and so a lot of people were attracted to her, regardless of whether they were a boy or a girl, Ashleas best friend Stephanie Naylor told, Firefighters put out the blaze and found 31-year-old Harris dead on her bedroom floor. Via the Star-Telegram: Cervantez testified that she and Mallory went to Cleburne and rented a motel room on Nov. 28, but later that day Mallory had her drive to Hulen Mall while he toyed with a 9 mm Glock handgun he held in his lap. Read the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about. But surveillance video confirmed she was not being truthful and it showed her leaving the mall and walking towards her home. At a minimum, this took at least a month of planning. Both are held on a $100,000 bond. 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. Carter was a former employee at the American Eagle store where Ashlea worked but she was fired in August. 23:46 GMT 24 Aug 2017 Carter Carol Cervantez appeals from her jury conviction for capital murder and automatic life sentence. He continued to lie in bed wondering what was going on in his upstairs neighbors apartment (Ashleas apartment). . After missing several shifts, he was fired and barred from working at other American Eagle stores. He noticed it because he never saw it parked there before. This was two weeks before Ashleas murder. A friend of hers, Alexis Torres came over. By this time, Mallory had failed to show up for work on three consecutive days when he was scheduled. Chicwanda Forbes gets the attention she craves from an older man in exchange for her loyalty; Carter Carol Cervantez begins to rethink her priorities when she finds love at the workplace. She told police that she didnot leave the apartment complex at all that day. 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Joyce Marshall jlmarshall@star-telegram.com FORT WORTH. He forced her to enter and rob American Eagle at gunpoint and threatened to kill her family if she didnt do what he asked. Get Driving Directions to Christina Melton Crain Unit Prison, Texas. He heard a scream at around 7.30am. Police searched their apartment. Thats not good. Video surveillance of the mall showed that at 2 am on Saturday morning someone tried to open the security gate at American Eagle. Mallory and Cervantez reportedly also stole $18,000 from the same store in August of 2014. Chris went over to Detective Cedillo to tell him what he knew. 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. terminated for leaving the store unsecured. When police looked at mall surveillance the video showed a person wearing a grey sweatshirt and black hat arrive at the security gate at American Eagle. Harris was born in 1983 and grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. He requested that they stop the black Infinity if they witnessed any type of traffic violation. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. , updated Officers found Mallory waiting in Cervantes car in the Hulen Mall parking lot and took him into custody. 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. Christopher Chris Cravey, Ashlea's boss, heard that police were asking about that vehicle and he told them he knew someone who drove one. I mean, my knees gave out. 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 . Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! When he went to see why the smoke detector had not gone off he noticed it had been removed and placed under the mattress. Her lover, David, continued working at the Amarillo store but began to miss shifts regularly. The man drove to Hulen Mall and when they got there, he dropped off Carter at the door and parked. This case has not yet been cited in our system. Prosecutors charged Cervantez with murder one and did not seek the death penalty. A woman was found guilty of capital murder Thursday for helping to beat, bind and set fire to another woman as part of a Black Friday robbery scheme in 2014. Unsure of her career path, Harris began working in retail in her early 20s. Clarence David Mallory (age 19) had previously worked for American Eagle at their Amarillo location. At that point, the firefighters had arrived. Sign up to receive the Free Law Project newsletter with tips and announcements. They believed that Carter and Clarencekilled Ashlea as they knew she had the keys for the safe and the plan was to take the keysand go to the American Eagle store to steal the tens of thousands of dollars they knew would be in the safe after Black Friday. Cervantez said Mallory put the gun in her face and tried to make her steal money from the store. Police asked Alexis if she knew who drove a black Infiniti G35. He told the Court that he lived in an apartment justbelow Ashleas apartment. In August 2016, Clarence David Mallory was found guilty of murder one after one hour of jury deliberation. The Autopsy revealed that Ashleahad numerous injuries on her body including but not limited to, Dr Fries testified that the injuries on Ashlea's face were caused by multiple blows. Carter's testimony also included an account of a time that she claimed she was raped by two men. But Tarrant County prosecutor Kevin Rousseau told the jury that Cervantez was the one who tried to control Mallory, whose trial is pending. The Court heard testimony from Steven Lee. She said that he held the gun up to her and told her to do it and that he also claimed there was somebody waiting outside her parent's home and they would be killed also if she didn't steal the money. Detective Cedillo decided to stake out Cervantez and Mallorys apartment arriving around 3:45 am on Saturday, November 29, 2014. It was approximately 6 ft. long, 2 ft wide and 3 feet deep. Police also saw what appeared to be a fresh injury to his lower lip and his lower lip was swollen. He was also found found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to the Dallas Voice newspaper. At that point is where it all becomes apparent why they killed Ashlea Harris. By 2011, she was an assistant manager at an American Eagle Outfitters store at Fort Worths Hulen Mall. Powered by Shopify. The neighbor attempted several times to get into Ashleas apartment but was forced out each time due to the heavy smoke. Court: Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth, Defendant's Attorney: William H. "Bill" Ray They were scheduled to make a deposit that morning of the proceeds from the Black Friday sales. Police believed that Ashlea was killed between 4.15am and 7.30am. Posted on May 27, 2016. One of Harris friends had stopped by after Ashlea got off work on Thanksgiving night and stayed until around 5 a.m. The Court heard about Ashlea's injuries. 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. 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. They found a lock in a kitchen drawer and a TASER box and some strands of duct tape in the trash. After more evidence is gathered they are arrested on December 4, 2014. We 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? Alexis usually watched Ashleas dog Nala when she worked. Rousseau added: 'Imagine the horror, someone is probably sitting on you while someone else is taping up your hands and then your ankles. He had looked at his alarm clock and saw the time was 7:30 am. He took photos of the various items found in the car. 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. 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. Police searched the black Infiniti G35 and found a plastic bag inside a black trash bag, a sharpening stone for a knife, a nine-millimeter cartridge, a cellphone, a walkie talkie and a Buck knife with a sheath. 2018) Court of Appeals of Texas Add Note Filed: November 8th, 2018 Precedential Status: Precedential Citations: None known Docket Number: 02-16-00224-CR Chris was in the parking lot and had been talking to Alexis Torres, who was the last person to talk to Ashlea Harris. Examiners Officer, performed the Autopsy on Ashleas body. 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. According to local news reports,the opening manager discovered $17,850.32 had been stolen from the safe. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It was a black Infiniti G35 with a faded toll sticker on its roof.
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