In August 2016, Clarence David Mallory was found guilty of murder one after one hour of jury deliberation. A Friday. Her body was partially burned and she had been beaten. He thought that somebody had collected Ashlea for work. 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. It is up to the rest of us to take an even harder look at who is minding our children. In the meantime, Detective Pate, Cedillos partner, made contact with Mallory. On May 26, 2016, twenty-seven-year-old Carter Carol Cervantez was found guilty of capital murder. Before fire and rescue workers arrived a neighbor, Jeff Kayser, kicked in her door calling out for her and Nala. A few minutes later, Patrick's. Prosecutors laid out a case that Cervantez wanted revenge and payback for getting fired. Then he gathered up some belongings, moved his car away from the building, and waited for the fire department to arrive. Prosecutors also showed evidence that Cervantez and Mallory were planning to rob the American Eagle in Abilene (where they had previously worked). He had looked at his alarm clock and saw the time was 7:30 am. Under the drivers seat was a 9mm Glock with a round still in the chamber. (Fort Worth PD) Harris, who was a manager at the store, had. They also found a toboggan with a hole cut in it, a tarp stillinside the package and a kitchen knife. 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. Ashlea Harris looked to have severe head trauma. 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 getinto her Infiniti G35 with a man. Police spoke to all of Ashlea'sneighbors. 2023 Chilling Crimes. According to local news reports,the opening manager discovered $17,850.32 had been stolen from the safe. On December 4, arrest warrants were executed, and David was arrested at a private residence in Amarillo on December 5. Home Chris was in the parking lot and had been talking to Alexis Torres, who was the last person to talk to Ashlea Harris. Alexis left after4am. 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 Court also heardpolicefoundlatitude and longitude coordinates on the cell phones. On Tax Free Weekend and Black Friday, those were our highest deposit days, said Groen. Carter Carol Cervantes worked as a store manager of an American Eagle Outfitters outlet in Amarillo, Texas. Chris told police that a former employee at American Eagle, Carter Carol Cervantez, drove a similar car. 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. Carter would always joke, If I were ever going to steal a deposit it would be after Black Friday or Tax Free Weekend.'. Patrick testified that he thought about what he should do. They raped her for not following through with the robbery. He is 22 years old. The comments below have not been moderated, by Chilling Crimes . 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. 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? The neighbor attempted several times to get into Ashleas apartment but was forced out each time due to the heavy smoke. He heard the door of Ashlea's apartment close and when he looked out his window, he saw a, black Infiniti G35 driving away. After that, she went to work. She was taken to the station for questioning. Upon searching Mallorys cell phone there were text messages that contained latitude and longitude coordinates. The detectives talked to two American Eagle employees who had been locked out due to the locks being changed. It was a black Infiniti G35. 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.. He asked him why he was in the parking lot so early in the morning. Police argue that the couple beat Harris and then set her body on fire, taking the keys to the Hulen Mall American Eagle Outfitters store in order to steal up to $50,000 in profits from a Black Friday sale. Police began talking to neighbors including Patrick Sweet, who told them about the unusual sounds he heard coming from Ashleas apartment that morning. She claims that Mallory drove her to the Hulen Mall not once, but twice. 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 The Dallas Morning News. Dr. Richard Fries, deputy M.E. 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. When she was unable to get in the store the first time she walked back to the car. At a minimum, this took at least a month of planning. 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. our Backup, Combined Opinion from He called 911 when his carbon monoxide detector wentoff and he realized there was a fire. Rousseau added: 'Imagine the horror, someone is probably sitting on you while someone else is taping up your hands and then your ankles. From what he could make out it was a female lying face down on the floor in front of the bed. 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. Mallory drove the car to another mall exit. She and her. It included her mother, Monica Cassity, stepfather Daddy Chuck, her father Tommy Harris Sr. and her stepmom Mary Reddy. Another video from Texas Appliances on the north side of the mall captures Cervantez walking away from the mall towards her apartment. 02-16-00224-CR. Please E-mail suggested additions, comments and/or corrections to Kent@MoreLaw.Com. Thats not good. First published on December 10, 2014 / 11:07 AM. When she tried to call her back Ashlea didnt pick up. Police tracked Cervantes and Mallory to an apartment near the Hulen Mall. Chris Cravey later found out that the key that was used to unlock the safe had been left unattended on a table in an area that Cervantez was folding clothes the day before. Harris boss told investigators the car was similar to a vehicle owned by former American Eagle Outfitters employee Carter Cervantes. She told the Jury that he controlled her and even told her when she could eat or drink. Cervantes also received a sentence of life without parole at a. Hetestified that it looked like a human grave. They founda plastic tub that contained bungee cords and arope. During a break in questioning, Cervantes was given a bottle of water and left alone in the interrogation room. They both pleaded not guilty. 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. Clarence David Mallory, 22, would meet a similar fate in August 2017. 27-year-old old Carter Carol Cervantez is on trial for capital murder in the. Her throat had been cut and she had been set on fire. Another neighbor also told police something disturbing. A few minutes later, Patrick'scarbon monoxide detector went offand he sawwater dripping from the ceiling in his bathroom. A bottle of it found near the body. 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. She denied being at the Hulen Mall that morning. 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 was able to determine that the fire had multiple points of origin. 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. Carter Carol Cervantez, 26, and Clarence David Mallory, 19, are both being held on $600,000 bond. | Editor It was evident to us that Carter was the mastermind behind this and I think David was the muscle. Clarence's phone-We left it. The Court heard testimony from Steven Lee. The Court heard testimony fromAlexis Torres Bunch. 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. The man drove to Hulen Mall and when they got there, he dropped off Carter at the door and parked. So why did they kill Ashlea? The perpetrators had stolen Ashleas store keys and were allegedly planning to break into the store again and steal more money. In August 2014, a hooded burglar had stolen $18,000 from the American Eagle Hulen Mall store following Texas Sales Tax Holiday Weekend. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Carter Carol Cervantez appeals from her jury conviction for capital murder and automatic life sentence. He ruled out accidental causes for the reason for the fire and concluded that the fire was set on purpose. Patrick thought that perhaps someone had come to pick Ashlea Harris up for work as her pick-up truck remained in its parking space. When Detective Cedillo entered the coordinates it came up to a specific location near Lueders, Texas. He was also fired per store policy. He was also a former employee at the same American Eagle store where Ashlea worked and he was Carter's boyfriend. 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 . He testified that he wokethat morning when he heardthe sound of the fire alarms. So what was the motive for such a savage attack? Surveillance cameras caught her wiping down the bottle after drinking from it in order to remove any traces of DNA. Patrick Sweet lived in the apartmentbelow Ashlea's apartment and hetold police that he heard a thump, screaming and heavy breathing. 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. She recalls being raped multiple times by friends of Mallorys and being coerced into the robbery. It was then he saw a body. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. The Court heard that police believed that over the course of a few weeks, Carter and Clarence planned to kidnap Ashlea and steal the keys. Carter did hold this against Ashlea, because Ashlea was the one that turned them in, said Groen. It was the 28th of November 2014. Domestic violence speaks many languages, has many colors and lives in many different communities. Each is charged with one count of capital murder. Both are held on a $100,000 bond. The police also analyzed their mobile phones to find they had exchanged texts planning the murder and methods of disposing of the corpse. Police retraced Ashlea's movements. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. At that location, Detective Cedillo found what he describes as a human grave. What did they all have in common on Black Friday 2014? Then he heard a loud thump right above him as Ashleas bedroom was directly above his. They were scheduled to make a deposit that morning of the proceeds from the Black Friday sales. Since this was a violation they took him into custody. Though Mallory was arrested for driving without a license, he was also released from custody. They originally planned to bury Harris at a grave site detectives found north of Abilene, Texas. They were arrested and charged with capital murder, according to the Reuters news service. Clarence David Mallory (age 19) had previously worked for American Eagle at their Amarillo location. Ashlea felt that the perpetrator was Mallory. There was a scrape and lacerations of her lip, a scrape on her chin and a star-shaped laceration with a surrounding bruise behind her left earwhich the medical examiner was caused by being struck by the pistol. This was two weeks before Ashleas murder. A 911 call was made by a resident at an apartment complex in Fort Worth, Texas, United States to ask for help. Get Driving Directions to Christina Melton Crain Unit Prison, Texas. Dr Fries testified that the injuries on Ashlea's face were caused by multiple blows. The keys seemed to be the only thing missing from her apartment. Cervantez was the assistant store manager who was to lock up the night of the theft. 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. 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. They also found another lock labeled lock picking practice lock. 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. | Store He opened a window in the bedroom to air it out. 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 In, Verdict Corrections 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. Police observed that she hadsuperficial scratches on her arms. Read the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about. Aloaded Glock 19 with a bullet in the chamber was found under the driver's seat. By Carter was a former employee at the American Eagle store where Ashlea worked but she was fired in August. They later found her at her apartment complex doing laundry. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. s asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head and neck. Surveillance footage from the Hulen Mall captured Cervantes trying to break into the American Eagle store on the morning of November 29 with Harris stolen keys, unaware that the locks had been changed. Harris and other workers helped identify them as suspects, KHOU reports. Another apartment in the complex was on fire. The locks at American Eagle were for precautionary reasons, Cedillo told Snapped.. After he missed three scheduled shifts after the burglary, he and her lover were terminated, and Carters managers keys were confiscated. The deposit was somewhere between $40,000 to $50,000. Carter's phone:Well, damn. The keyring also had the front gate key and store key on them. So he laid back down to try to fall back asleep, but thats when the carbon monoxide detector went off. Police could not find Carter inside the mall even though they saw Clarence drop her off at the door. She would always find a way at work to make it harder on you.. He told the Court that he lived in an apartment just, below Ashleas apartment. These included a receipt for a cutaway practice lock that had been mailed to Cervantez & Mallorys apartment and a lock picking instruction manual. She was inside getting some paperwork she needed to complete. Video surveillance of the mall showed that at 2 am on Saturday morning someone tried to open the security gate at American Eagle. Ashlea Ann Harris was murdered Nov. 28, 2014, by Clarence David Mallory, 22, and his co-defendant, Carter Carol Cervantes, 28. The term Black Friday originated in Philadelphia to describe heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic on the day after Thanksgiving. The scream was followed by a loud thud and he, could hear labored breathing. It is the13th largest city in the US. Cheyenne Roundtree For Dailymail.com, 'Multiple' US Army drill sergeants at Fort Benning suspended after sexual assault allegations surface, 'It's tough to watch him struggle': Hugh Hefner's son opens up about his dad's health struggles as reclusive Playboy founder hasn't been seen in public in over a year, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, TN residents say Jack Daniel's distillery spews black mold, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Nobody knew for certain whether Ashlea was inside or not. When he went to see why the smoke detector had not gone off he noticed it had been removed and placed under the mattress. 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.". He called 911 as he realized there must be a fire. 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. In the parking lot was a black two-door infiniti like the one seen at the crime scene. It took them just two hours to find her guilty and she was sentenced tolife in prison without parole. She told Chris police were asking about an Infiniti G35. And Ashlea discovered that Carter was the person due to lock up the night it was stolen and had left the back door open. ", Sign up to get the latest true crime stories, new product releases and more, Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more . Close to $18,000 was missing from the safe. February 04, 2022, "The criminal justice system will take a hard look at what happened to Matthew Eappen. He took photos of the various items found in the car. Video from American Eagle picks her up approaching the gate. | Advertising Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Ukraine soldiers shoot down enemy drones with drones of their own, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Isabel Oakeshott clashes with Nick Robinson over Hancock texts. 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: They told authorities Harris usually left her keys on the kitchen counter, and that her home and car keys were on the same keychain as the keys to the American Eagle store where she worked. The Court heard that inJune 2014, Ashleawas appointed to run the store while Chris was on medical leave. She told police that she didnot leave the apartment complex at all that day. When he went to get her keys he was unable to locate them. They told authorities Harris usually left her keys on the kitchen counter, and that her home and car keys were on the same keychain as the keys to the American Eagle store where she worked.