Before fire and rescue workers arrived a neighbor, Jeff Kayser, kicked in her door calling out for her and Nala. In her testimony, Cervantez describes abusive behavior from Mallory, who she says threatened to kill her family if she didnt comply with his orders. Cervantez claims that Mallory dug the grave for her. 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. 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. At the police station, police observed that he was wearing a ski mask. Carter would always joke, If I were ever going to steal a deposit it would be after Black Friday or Tax Free Weekend.'. 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. Video surveillance of the mall showed that at 2 am on Saturday morning someone tried to open the security gate at American Eagle. He testified that when he entered the apartment, it, was full of smoke and water was spraying from the sprinkler system. Police conducted a second search of the apartment on December 4th and found a key in the kitchen trash can. Detective Cedillo entered the mall looking for Cervantez but was unable to find her. She admitted to not locking the back door the night of the theft. They were scheduled to make a deposit that morning of the proceeds from the Black Friday sales. Ashlea Ann Harris was murdered Nov. 28, 2014, by Clarence David Mallory, 22, and his co-defendant, Carter Carol Cervantes, 28. Fort Worth Police arrested two suspects in the November 28 murder of Ashlea Harris. Ashlea has suffered numerous injuries to her face and head indicating that there were multiple blows. Both denied knowing anything about the homicide and claimed to be together on Thanksgiving, having dinner and watching movies. Her name was Carter Carol Cervantez. A key belonging to another assistant store manager was left in the night deposit box. Police asked Mallory to see his drivers license which he told them he did not have on him. BestsellerThe Barista Express grinds, foams milk, and produces the silkiest espresso at the perfect temperature. Aloaded Glock 19 with a bullet in the chamber was found under the driver's seat. 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. Police began talking to neighbors including Patrick Sweet, who told them about the unusual sounds he heard coming from Ashleas apartment that morning. Cervantez claimed that the grave was not for Ashlea Harris, but for her. It is up to the rest of us to take an even harder look at who is minding our children. He then radioed for police and a crime scene unit to come to the scene. In looking at a police department database, Cedillo found that Cervantez and her boyfriend, Clarence Mallory had been suspects in an August 24, 2014 theft at America Eagle. By Precedential, Citations: 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. Since this was a violation they took him into custody. Carter and David were convicted of beating, strangling, and bounding Ashlea and setting fire to her4701 King Ranch Road apartment onNovember 28, 2014, morning. The next day, Mallory drove her back to try again. It took them just two hours to find her guilty and she was sentenced tolife in prison without parole. Chris Cravey had gotten all the locks changed upon hearing about Ashleas murder. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Authorities discovered Harris' body face down on her scorched bed with her ankles and wrists bound on Nov. 28, 2014, the. Detective Cedillo went back to Cervantez apartment and found her in the laundry room this time wearing pink scrubs. Prosecutors laid out a case that Cervantez wanted revenge and payback for getting fired. The Prosecution called Jeff Kayser to testify. All were missing. A Friday. Malloy is being held in a Potter County Jail and will be. <p>Carter Carol Cervantez, 27, enters court on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, with defense attorneys Steve Gordon, right, and Bill Ray, not pictured. A bottle of it found near the body. Cedillo went to the American Eagle store where Harris' boss was waiting for the owners to open up. Ashlea identified Clarence as the person who took the money from the safe from the surveillance footage. David received the same sentence on August 24, 2017. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Did we leave it behind? She enters the mall at 7:56 am on November 29th. The manner of Ashlea's death was ruled as a homicide. Cheyenne Roundtree For Dailymail.com He saw Cervantez exit the vehicle wearing and enter the mall. Im so sorry I forgot. Around 8 am Ft. Worth Fire Department Lt. Jarrod Pavlechko arrived on the scene. February 04, 2022, "The criminal justice system will take a hard look at what happened to Matthew Eappen. 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. Alexis Torres Bunch. In addition, he did not call in to request off. 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. One of Harris friends had stopped by after Ashlea got off work on Thanksgiving night and stayed until around 5 a.m. When he went to see why the smoke detector had not gone off he noticed it had been removed and placed under the mattress. 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. We Chris testified that Carter and Clarence would have known that Ashleaidentified Clarence and informed him of the theft. Text messages obtained from Cervantes and Mallorys phones showed them plotting Harris murder as part of a planned Black Friday heist. Carter's phone:Well, damn. The detectives talked to two American Eagle employees who had been locked out due to the locks being changed. Jeans with FWPD Crime Scene Unit. The day after Thanksgiving Day. We may earn a commission from links on this page. 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. When Detective Cedillo follows up with a manager who happened to be in that morning at Aeropostale, he told police that Carter Cervantez did not work there. She recalls being raped multiple times by friends of Mallorys and being coerced into the robbery. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Mallory drove the car to another mall exit. The Ashlea Harris murder. They found a lock in a kitchen drawer and a TASER box and some strands of duct tape in the trash. Investigators obtained a search warrant for Cervantes and Mallorys apartment and found a shopping receipt from November 21 for shovels, gloves, duct tape, rope, and a tarp. Fired One week later Cravey called Cervantez. Her truck was still in the apartment complexs parking lot. 23:46 GMT 24 Aug 2017 On the 24th of August 2014, at 1.14am, $18000 was stolen from the safe in the American Eagle store. She said that she did not. The police also analyzed their mobile phones to find they had exchanged texts planning the murder and methods of disposing of the corpse. The apartment belonged to 31-year-old Ashlea Harris who resided there with her dog, Nala. Christopher Chris Cravey, Ashlea's boss, heard that police were asking about that vehicle and he told them he knew someone who drove one. Ashlea Harris looked to have severe head trauma. It was the proceeds from the sales during the recently concludedTexas Sales Tax Holiday Weekend in August. From what he could make out it was a female lying face down on the floor in front of the bed. Her feet and hands were bound with duct tape and she was covered in blood, according to Texas Amarillo Globe-News newspaper. After missing several shifts, he was fired and barred from working at other American Eagle stores. At Carter's Trial, her Defense was that she was not involved in Ashlea's death. The Jury heard that at 6.56am,Alexishad a missed call from Ashlea and when she noticed it, just a few minutes later, she called her back but there was no answer. He had looked at his alarm clock and saw the time was 7:30 am. He called 911 when his carbon monoxide detector wentoff and he realized there was a fire. Cervantez received life in prison without the possibility of parole. They both pleaded not guilty. Clarence and Carter wereboth charged with capital murder. This was somebody who killed her out of anger. The following opinions cover similar topics: CourtListener is a project of Free Video from American Eagle picks her up approaching the gate. Upon searching Mallorys cell phone there were text messages that contained latitude and longitude coordinates. (Fort Worth PD) Harris, who was a manager at the store, had. Cravey fired Cervantez because she had left the store unsecured. Their cases were heard separately but the Prosecution case was almost the same for both with the exception that they believed Carter was the mastermind behind the crime. A 911 call was made by a resident at an apartment complex in Fort Worth, Texas, United States to ask for help. Whoever was the last person to leave had locked the door behind them. 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. Each is charged with one count of capital murder. At 6:56 am Alexis noticed a missed call from Ashlea. Carter Carol Cervantez. It matched Ashlea Harris' DNA. Domestic violence speaks many languages, has many colors and lives in many different communities. Prosecutors say Cervantez and her. As word of the fire spread throughout the community, Harris friends rushed to the scene, desperate for information. 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. The Court heard about Ashlea's injuries. Assuming that there may be a fire in Ashleas apartment he dialed 911. Jason Kidd hopes Mavs star stays patient in preseason play, Spring training cuts are incoming, but these Rangers prospects have impressed in camp. He observedthat the smoke detector had been removed and was underneath the mattress. The manner of Ashlea's death was ruled as a homicide. He called 911 when his carbon monoxide detector wentoff and he realized there was a fire. This key was not in the trash during the first search. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that 27-year-old Carter Carol Cervantez was convicted of capital murder Thursday and sentenced to life in prison . He opened a window in the bedroom to air it out. s asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head and neck. After missing several shifts, he was fired and barred from working at other American Eagle stores. 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. 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. They later found her at her apartment complex doing laundry. She was raised in a large and loving family and made friends wherever she went. At the apartment, detectives found a box containing a taser in the trash, strands of duct tape, and a damaged deadbolt lock. It was approximately 6 ft. long, 2 ft wide and 3 feet deep. 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. 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. The Court heard that the car was still there when Steven left for work after 7.30am. 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. They are not hiding in shadows. In the parking lot was a black two-door infiniti like the one seen at the crime scene. At that point, no one other than law enforcement knew that there was any keys missing. There were extensive text messages between the two as they watched the store. But Tarrant County prosecutor Kevin Rousseau told the jury that Cervantez was the one who tried to control Mallory, whose trial is pending. They discovered that on Thanksgiving Day, she went to dinner withher friendAlexis Torres and other friends at an apartment inside her complex. Cravey indicated that he did. 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. Steven W. Conder. 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. 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. Carter Carol Cervantez, 25, was taken into custody by Tarrant County Sheriffs on Saturday. She was taken to the station for questioning. 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. 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. Harris friends told investigators that she had been working around the clock in anticipation of the Black Friday sales event which started that morning. According to the show, Carter was recorded being very careful about leaving forensic evidence, even wiping a water bottle after drinking to remove her fingerprints. Alexis usually watched Ashleas dog Nala when she worked. Cervantes helped Mallory falsify documents so she could hire him at the Hulen Mall location where she worked with Harris. He continued to lie in bed wondering what was going on in his upstairs neighbors apartment (Ashleas apartment). (Joyce Marshall)</p> Author: WFAA Staff Published:. He told the Court that he lived in an apartment justbelow Ashleas apartment. She was sentenced / adjudicated in Runnels County, Winters. There are a lot of people at her apartment complex, which says a lot about the defendants in this case.'. The Court also heardpolicefoundlatitude and longitude coordinates on the cell phones. 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 took photos of the various items found in the car. 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 switched his first name with his middle name and changed two digits of his social security number. 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. Police were contacted when the theft was discovered, but I dont know if they questioned Mallory or Cervantez. The couple lived only two miles from Ashleas apartment. The perpetrators had stolen Ashleas store keys and were allegedly planning to break into the store again and steal more money. After that, she went to work. The State waived their right to seekthe death penalty and instead looked forlife in prison without parole. The two reunited in Fort Worth and moved in together. Nobody knew for certain whether Ashlea was inside or not. However, her loyalty to the store where she was employed would tragically lead to her death. There were also no signs that a taser had been used on her. Her body was partially burned and she had been beaten. 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. When he looked out the window he witnessed a dark-colored vehicle driving away. When he left for work around 7:30 am the car was still there. It was a black Infiniti G35. They founda plastic tub that contained bungee cords and arope. Who Killed Her. Dr Fries testified that the injuries on Ashlea's face were caused by multiple blows. FORT WORTH, Texas -- A woman whose burned body was found in her Fort Worth apartment Thanksgiving weekend had been strangled and beaten, allegedly by former co-workers, according to court documents. 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? A few minutes later, Patrick's. 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. Many retailers have special markdowns and people lose their minds trying to snatch up the bargains. He was also a former employee at the same American Eagle store where Ashlea worked and he was Carter's boyfriend. 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. 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. He asked if she would be willing to go downtown to be interviewed and she agreed. Detective Jerry Cedillo with the Ft. Worth Police Department Homicide Unit arrived at 10:22 am. There was no smoke in her lungs indicating she was not alive when the fire was set. The investigation revealed that the fire was not accidental and that rubbing alcohol had been poured in different areasthroughout the apartment including on Ashlea's bed. 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 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. But prosecutors said Cervantez planned the crime, which involved stealing Harris' keys to the American Eagle Outfitters store at Hulen Mall in Fort Worth so the couple could take the cash from the store. Powered by Shopify. At a minimum, this took at least a month of planning. 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. She stole Ashleas keys to commit another theft with an even bigger payoff. She told the Jury that he controlled her and even told her when she could eat or drink. 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. 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. Thats not good. Harris' hands and feet were bound in duct tape, reports CBS affiliate KHOU, which cites court documents filed by Fort Worth police. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Officers found Mallory waiting in Cervantes car in the Hulen Mall parking lot and took him into custody. The deposit was somewhere between $40,000 to $50,000. She workedas an assistant managerin an American Eagle store in the Hulen Mall. Who Killed Her? And when she did not do what she was told, they returned to their apartment, where Mallorys friends raped her repeatedly, Cervantez testified. Cervantes had worked at American Eagle Outfitters for several years and managed a store in Amarillo, Texas. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Carter Carol Cervantez appeals from her jury conviction for capital murder and automatic life sentence. 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. Cervantezs 21 year-old boyfriend Clarence David Mallory has also been charged. Keith Morrison. It was the Prosecution's case that Carter and Clarencehad a couple of different reasons to want to harm Ashlea. She is described by the store manager, Chris Cravey, as being a phenomenal employee who was loved by everyone.. The only thing missing from Ashlea's apartment were her keys. A. loaded Glock 19 with a bullet in the chamber was found under the driver's seat. What did they all have in common on Black Friday 2014? 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 two disappeared after the theft and were not arrested until police tracked them down on Dec. 6. Detective Cedillo decided to stake out Cervantez and Mallorys apartment arriving around 3:45 am on Saturday, November 29, 2014. Cervantez asked to speak to the regional manager about her firing, but in the end, handed over her store keys. ", by Chilling Crimes They found a lock in a kitchen drawer and a TASER box and some strands of duct tape in the trash. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. At that location, Detective Cedillo found what he describes as a human grave. Read the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about. The keys seemed to be the only thing missing from her apartment. Ashlea was appointed to run the store while Cravey was out on medical leave. NBCs Black Friday chronicles how Ashlea Harris was murdered by two spiteful former co-workers, Carter Cervantez and David Mallory, in Fort Worth, Texas, in November 2014. with the Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office testified to Ashlea Harriss cause of death. Police believed they were used for practice as theywerelabeled lock picking practice lock.. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. And Ashlea discovered that Carter was the person due to lock up the night it was stolen and had left the back door open. Carter was a former employee at the American Eagle store where Ashlea worked but she was fired in August. Today, Ft. Worth is a thriving city of approximately 800,000 residents. Another video from Texas Appliances on the north side of the mall captures Cervantez walking away from the mall towards her apartment. The M.E. They had been dating which was a violation of store policy. Police found burn marks on her body and she had been strangled and her throat wasslit. By 2011, she was an assistant manager at an American Eagle Outfitters store at Fort Worths Hulen Mall. She transferred to the Hulen Mall location and held an assistant store manager position. 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 . For that reason, the fire seemed like an afterthought to me, Fort Worth Police Detective Ernie Pate told Snapped.. They were there to get the keys, said Cedillo. Cervantes helped Mallory falsify documents so she could hire him at the Hulen Mall location where she worked with Harris.