Carter Carol Cervantez appeals from her jury conviction for capital murder and automatic life sentence. Dr Richard Fries, a deputy medical examiner at the Tarrant County MedicalExaminers Officer, performed the Autopsy on Ashleas body. They later found her at her apartment complex doing laundry. Detective Jerry Cedillo with the Ft. Worth Police Department Homicide Unit arrived at 10:22 am. She said that she did not. Though Mallory was arrested for driving without a license, he was also released from custody. Detective Cedillo entered the mall looking for Cervantez but was unable to find her. The keyring also had the front gate key and store key on them. She stole Ashleas keys to commit another theft with an even bigger payoff. Re: Carter Carol Cervantez v. The State of Texas - MoreLaw It was evident to us that Carter was the mastermind behind this and I think David was the muscle. I didnt touch it. The State waived their right to seekthe death penalty and instead looked forlife in prison without parole. It didn't last long. Protect yourself and those you love. When she was unable to get in the store the first time she walked back to the car. August 20, 2021, "Evil people always support each other; that is their chief strength.". None known, Docket Number: Her feet and hands were bound with duct tape and she was covered in blood, according to Texas Amarillo Globe-News newspaper. 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. It was a black Infiniti G35 with a faded toll sticker on its roof. On December 4, arrest warrants were executed, and David was arrested at a private residence in Amarillo on December 5. It didn't last long. On November 29th search warrants were obtained for Cervantez and Mallorys apartment, the black Infinity, and Mallorys Cadillac. A medical examiner found blunt force trauma to her face and head and trauma related to strangulation on her neck and throat, according to the Amarillo Globe-News. 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. Harris apartment showed no signs of forced entry and none of her valuables were missing. On Tax Free Weekend and Black Friday, those were our highest deposit days, said Groen. The scream was followed by a loud thud and hecould hear labored breathing. Somehow they avoided looking up at the camera. 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. Jeff Kayser to testify. It was a direct violation of the company policy, and she started facing flak for her relationship with a subordinate. What did they all have in common on Black Friday 2014? . Cerevantez and Mallory had previously worked with Harris at the American Eagle store, but this summer were suspected of stealing $18,000 dollars from it. All were missing. And in Fort Worth, career-driven Carter Carol Cervantez begins to rethink her priorities when she finds love at the workplace. 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 v. The State of Texas Case Number: 02-16-00224-CR Judge: Mark T. Pittman Court: Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth Plaintiff's Attorney: Joseph W. Spence Defendant's Attorney: William H. "Bill" Ray Steven W. Conder Description: Police set up surveillance outside Carter's home and the next morning, the Saturday morning, at 8 am they saw her leave her apartment and get into her Infiniti G35 with a man. Harris' hands and feet were bound in duct tape,. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. By this time, Mallory had failed to show up for work on three consecutive days when he was scheduled. 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. He followed them as Mallory drove to the Hulen Mall. She claimed that when Ashlea was murdered that she was in bed asleep and she didn't know where Clarence was. "For My Man" Chicwanda Forbes; Carter Cervantez (TV Episode 2018 - IMDb Both Mallory and Cervantez are questioned and released despite both being caught lying and contradicting each other. One suspect in 2014 Black Friday slaying gets life in prison | Fort Please enter valid email address to continue. The deposit was somewhere between $40,000 to $50,000. 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. 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 Snapped," airing Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen. 04:27 GMT 25 Aug 2017. They originally planned to bury Harris at a grave site detectives found north of Abilene, Texas. They stalked Ashlea Harris like people stalk a deer.". Another neighbor, Patrick Sweet, also testified. It showed Cervantez buying two shovels, a rope, bungee cords, gloves, and a tarp. She was inside getting some paperwork she needed to complete. February 04, 2022, "The criminal justice system will take a hard look at what happened to Matthew Eappen. | Articles She was the youngest of three girls. 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. | Advertising our Backup, Combined Opinion from Carter Carol Cervantez was arrested Dec. 6, 2014. Ashlea felt that the perpetrator was Mallory. Carter was arrested the following day by Tarrant County deputies. The Prosecution called Jeff Kayser to testify. After work, Ashlea returned to herapartment around 3.15am and Alexis called over for a few minutes. The day after Thanksgiving Day. 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 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 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. 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 . Jeff was a neighbor and friend of Ashlea's. Police found burn marks on her body and she had been strangled and her throat wasslit. She would always find a way at work to make it harder on you, former co-worker Leticia Groen told Snapped.. The trial for the horrific murder of an American Eagle employee on Black Friday began this week in Fort Worth, TX. Cervantez v. State, No. 02-16-00224-CR | Casetext Search + Citator Mallory and Cervantez reportedly also stole $18,000 from the same store in August of 2014. In August 2014, a hooded burglar had stolen $18,000 from the American Eagle Hulen Mall store following Texas Sales Tax Holiday Weekend. At that location, Detective Cedillo found what he describes as a human grave. The key opened the dressing room and storage closet at Hulen Mall American Eagle. Today, Ft. Worth is a thriving city of approximately 800,000 residents. Police observed that she hadsuperficial scratches on her arms. 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Prosecutors say Cervantez and her. Carter Carol Cervantez, 27, enters court Tuesday, May 17, 2016, with defense attorneys Steve Gordon, right, and Bill Ray, not pictured. Harris' hands and feet were bound in duct tape, reports CBS affiliate KHOU, which cites court documents filed by Fort Worth police. reunited in Fort Worth and moved in together. Im so sorry I forgot. He told the Court thathe sawa black Infiniti G35 with a faded Toll tag sticker on its roof parked outside. Each is charged with one count of capital murder. 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. The couple were arrested this weekend Cervantez in Fort Worth and Mallory in Amarillo on warrants accusing them of capital murder for Harris's slaying and theft $1,500 to $20,000 for the. In August 2016, Clarence David Mallory was found guilty of murder one after one hour of jury deliberation. For more on this case and others like it, watch "Snapped," airing Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen, or stream episodes here. Police believed that Ashlea was killed between 4.15am and 7.30am. Detective Cedillo went back to Cervantez apartment and found her in the laundry room this time wearing pink scrubs. David, 27, is incarcerated at the Jim Ferguson Unit in Midway, Texas. Ashlea has suffered numerous injuries to her face and head indicating that there were multiple blows. Cervantez also testified that Mallory raped her when she didn't do what he wanted. 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. He went searching for the reason it was going off and then noticed water dripping from the bathroom ceiling. Both suspects were booked . She was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole on May 26, 2016. previously worked at an American Eagle store in Amarillo and was listed in the American Eagle system as, Ashlea suspended Carter and one week later, Chris called Carter and told her. He was arrested for not having his driver's license on him. This was different. Cervantez claimed that the grave was not for Ashlea Harris, but for her. Patrick was thinking about trying to find out what was going on when he heard Ashleas front door open and then close. 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. They were not able to open the gate and promptly left. Harris friends told investigators that she had been working around the clock in anticipation of the Black Friday sales event which started that morning. Though the theft remained an open case with the Fort Worth Police Department, American Eagle believed it had enough evidence to fire Cervantes and Mallory. They found a lock in a kitchen drawer and a TASER box and some strands of duct tape in the trash. A coworker was slapped with life in prison for beating and burning to death a store manager on Black Friday so that he could take her store keys and steal $50,000. Harris and other workers helped identify them as suspects, KHOU reports. Police also saw what appeared to be a fresh injury to his lower lip and his lower lip was swollen. . The manner of Ashlea's death was ruled as a homicide. Carter Cervantez, 27, who was an assistant manager at the Hulen Mall store, is on trial this week, accused of killing Ashlea Ann Harris, 31, on the day after Thanksgiving 2014. The Jury heard that Clarence was arrested in the car park at the mall . Mallory drove the car to another mall exit. The Black Infiniti G35 was searched by Officer J.J. Defendant in American Eagle murder trial testifies | Fort Worth Star At that point is where it all becomes apparent why they killed Ashlea Harris. 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. He observedthat the smoke detector had been removed and was underneath the mattress. Another video from Texas Appliances on the north side of the mall captures Cervantez walking away from the mall towards her apartment. Ashlea was appointed to run the store while Cravey was out on medical leave. Joyce Marshall jlmarshall@star-telegram.com FORT WORTH. This key was not in the trash during the first search. 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. | Store Woman gets life for beating, binding, burning co-worker at Fort Worth Clarence David Mallory, 22, would meet a similar fate in August 2017. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! All were missing.