He spotted the black Infinity in the apartment parking lot. She purchased what Im going to describe as a murder kit, said Rousseau. . Close to $18,000 was missing from the safe. Wallace also determined that the ignition source was an open flame. One suspect in 2014 Black Friday slaying gets life in prison, Clarence David Mallory, Jr. v. The State of Texas Appeal from 297th District Court of Tarrant County (memorandum opinion), Woman gets life for beating, binding, burning co-worker at Fort Worth mall in robbery plot, Police: Couple beat, strangled, burned woman News, Ashlea Harris Obituary Fort Worth, TX | Star-Telegram, Benbrook man gets life for killing Hulen Mall manager, Carter Carol Cervantez v. State CourtListener.com, Defendant in American Eagle murder trial testifies, Belle Gunness The Mistress of the Murder Farm, Kendall Francois The Poughkeepsie Killer, Dateline Podcast Black Friday November 29, 2019. The deposit was somewhere between $40,000 to $50,000. Ashlea felt that the perpetrator was Mallory. Chris went over to Detective Cedillo to tell him what he knew. She would always find a way at work to make it harder on you, former co-worker Leticia Groen told Snapped.. Carter Carol Cervantez faces capital murder charges in connection with the death of Ashlea Harris. Somehow they avoided looking up at the camera. 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. Law Project, a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit. He testified that at around 7.30am on the 28th of November, he woke when heheard a loud scream. Cedillo went to the American Eagle store where Harris' boss was waiting for the owners to open up. Take out all the trash andleave that. She was blamed as the mastermind behind the murder plot by prosecutors. 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. While they were let go initially, the investigators had search warrants for their apartment and car. They later found her at her apartment complex doing laundry. Cheyenne Roundtree For Dailymail.com Rousseau added: 'Imagine the horror, someone is probably sitting on you while someone else is taping up your hands and then your ankles. Her name was Carter Carol Cervantez. The day after Thanksgiving Day. They had been dating which was a violation of store policy. Harris and other workers helped identify them as suspects, KHOU reports. By this time, Mallory had failed to show up for work on three consecutive days when he was scheduled. Then he gathered up some belongings, moved his car away from the building, and waited for the fire department to arrive. FWPD Fort Worth Police Department FORT WORTH Pictures of tools that could be used to pick locks, the front cover of the book Practical Lock. Another store employee watched the video and agreed with Ashlea based on the suspects physical appearance. rely on donations for our financial security. They went directly to the safe where the night deposits were kept, unlocked it, and took the cash inside. At that point, the firefighters had arrived. Investigators believe the fire was an abrupt change in plan. She claims that Mallory drove her to the Hulen Mall not once, but twice. 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. s asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head and neck. Though Mallory was arrested for driving without a license, he was also released from custody. (Joyce Marshall)</p> Author: WFAA Staff Published:. They originally planned to bury Harris at a grave site detectives found north of Abilene, Texas. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. The Prosecution called Jeff Kayser to testify. 2018) Court of Appeals of Texas Add Note Filed: November 8th, 2018 Precedential Status: Precedential Citations: None known Docket Number: 02-16-00224-CR He requested that they stop the black Infinity if they witnessed any type of traffic violation. The two disappeared after the theft and were not arrested until police tracked them down on Dec. 6. / CBS News/AP. He continued to lie in bed wondering what was going on in his upstairs neighbors apartment (Ashleas apartment). A few minutes later, Patrick's. 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 suspended Carter and one week later, Chris called Carter and told herthat she had beenterminated for leaving the store unsecured. The key opened the dressing room and storage closet at Hulen Mall American Eagle. One neighbor, Steven Lee, told police that he had a cigarette on his balcony at around 6.30am that morning and saw a car parked outside. In August 2014, a hooded burglar had stolen $18,000 from the American Eagle Hulen Mall store following Texas Sales Tax Holiday Weekend. 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. She would always find a way at work to make it harder on you.. The two reunited in Fort Worth and moved in together. He observedthat the smoke detector had been removed and was underneath the mattress. Ashlea Harris looked to have severe head trauma. It was a latenight due to Black Friday sales and Alexis looked after Ashlea's dog Nala while Ashlea was working. 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. He noticed it because he never saw it parked there before. Her body was partially burned and she had been beaten. January 25, 2022, "The effects of abuse are devastating and far reaching. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. On the 24th of August 2014, at 1.14am, $18000 was stolen from the safe in the American Eagle store. And when she did not do what she was told, they returned to their apartment, where Mallorys friends raped her repeatedly, Cervantez testified. Investigators determined the fire started in Harris bedroom and that rubbing alcohol had been used as an accelerant, despite its low flammability. Steven W. Conder. Another apartment in the complex was on fire. a plastic tub that contained bungee cords and arope. 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. Her lover, David, continued working at the Amarillo store but began to miss shifts regularly. After more evidence is gathered they are arrested on December 4, 2014. It looked new as there was notany noticeable wear and the plastic price tag fastener was still attached. 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. At that point is where it all becomes apparent why they killed Ashlea Harris. He told the Court thathe sawa black Infiniti G35 with a faded Toll tag sticker on its roof parked outside. Did we leave it behind? 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. The trial for the horrific murder of an American Eagle employee on Black Friday began this week in Fort Worth, TX. After missing several shifts, he was fired and barred from working at other American Eagle stores. The neighbor attempted several times to get into Ashleas apartment but was forced out each time due to the heavy smoke. At the apartment, detectives found a box containing a taser in the trash, strands of duct tape, and a damaged deadbolt lock. 'They slash her throat and then, when she is finally dead, they set her place on fire. He was arrested for not having his driver's license on him. When he went to get her keys he was unable to locate them. Police found burn marks on her body and she had been strangled and her throat wasslit. 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. They are not hiding in shadows. 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. As word of the fire spread throughout the community, Harris friends rushed to the scene, desperate for information. 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. Ashlea immediately contacted loss prevention, Chris Cravey, and the district manager. An older man offers Chicwanda Forbes the attention she craves in exchange for her loyalty. She was raised in a large and loving family and made friends wherever she went. Protect yourself and those you love. I mean, my knees gave out. But surveillance video confirmed she was not being truthful and it showed her leaving the mall and walking towards her home. 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. It showed Cervantez buying two shovels, a rope, bungee cords, gloves, and a tarp. Police arrested him as he could not produce his driver's license when asked. 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. 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. That was a term the brand used toindicate that the person should not be hired at any location. If you believe this Record is in error (i.e. 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. Harris boss told investigators the car was similar to a vehicle owned by former American Eagle Outfitters employee Carter Cervantes. Harris was born in 1983 and grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. Carter was a former employee at the American Eagle store where Ashlea worked but she was fired in August. | Link Errors The Court also heardpolicefoundlatitude and longitude coordinates on the cell phones. 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. Alexis Torres Bunch. Police searched their apartment. She claimed that when Ashlea was murdered that she was in bed asleep and she didn't know where Clarence was. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 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. It had its lights off as it left the parking space in front of Ashleas apartment. He testified that he wokethat morning when he heardthe sound of the fire alarms. At 7:45 am he witnessed Cervantez and Mallory exit their apartment and get into the black Infinity. 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. Christopher Chris Cravey, Ashlea's boss, heard that police were asking about that vehicle and he told them he knew someone who drove one. So why did they kill Ashlea? Jeff Kayser to testify. Cervantezs 21 year-old boyfriend Clarence David Mallory has also been charged. Cervantez is arrested in Lubbock and Mallory is taken into custody in Amarillo. Cedillo went to the American Eagle store where Harris' boss was waiting for the owners to open up. 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. 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. Her friend left around 4:40 am with Ashlea locking the door behind her. It was a black Infiniti G35. Carter did hold this against Ashlea, because Ashlea was the one that turned them in, said Groen. Ashlea was appointed to run the store while Cravey was out on medical leave. This manager did not close the store that night and did not appear to have the same build as the person in the video. Outcome: Having overruled all three of Cervantezs points, we affirm the trial courts 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. Ashlea Ann Harris was murdered Nov. 28, 2014, by Clarence David Mallory, 22, and his co-defendant, Carter Carol Cervantes, 28. The Court heard about Ashlea's injuries. He heard the door of Ashlea's apartment close and when he looked out his window, he saw ablack Infiniti G35 driving away. 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. The perpetrators had stolen Ashleas store keys and were allegedly planning to break into the store again and steal more money. 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? Police had to establish if they were involved in Ashlea's death what the motive was. After Carters two-door black Infiniti G35 was identified to be on the scene by witnesses and officers followed the couple to the mall the next morning. She told police that she didnot leave the apartment complex at all that day. Both Mallory and Cervantez are questioned and released despite both being caught lying and contradicting each other. Alexis usually watched Ashleas dog Nala when she worked. He heard the door of Ashlea's apartment close and when he looked out his window, he saw a, black Infiniti G35 driving away. 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. Police "developed probable cause" to make the arrests, according to a release. 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