She told police that she didnot leave the apartment complex at all that day. 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. terminated for leaving the store unsecured. David, 27, is incarcerated at the Jim Ferguson Unit in Midway, Texas. The Court heard that inJune 2014, Ashleawas appointed to run the store while Chris was on medical leave. It was approximately 6 ft. long, 2 ft wide and 3 feet deep. The jury did not believe her. Police have charged Carter Cervantez, 25, and her boyfriend Clarence "David" Mallory, 19, with capital murder in the death of Ashlea Harris, 31. It is up to the rest of us to take an even harder look at who is minding our children. This Record may not reflect actual, complete, or up-to-date data. 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. Investigators determined the fire started in Harris bedroom and that rubbing alcohol had been used as an accelerant, despite its low flammability. Ashlea Harris worked as an assistant store manager for American Eagle Outfitters located in the Hulen Mall. 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. When he went to see why the smoke detector had not gone off he noticed it had been removed and placed under the mattress. Text messages obtained from Cervantes and Mallorys phones showed them plotting Harris murder as part of a planned Black Friday heist. Both suspects were booked . Harris and other workers helped identify them as suspects, KHOU reports. Please E-mail suggested additions, comments and/or corrections to Kent@MoreLaw.Com. Clarence David Mallory (age 19) had previously worked for American Eagle at their Amarillo location. The apartment was filled with smoke. However, the police arrested David in the mall parking area after finding he carried no license, and officers went to their apartment and brought Carter in for questioning. One week later Cravey called Cervantez. Her name was Carter Carol Cervantez. One of Harris friends had stopped by after Ashlea got off work on Thanksgiving night and stayed until around 5 a.m. Theyare in our work places, our friendship groups and sometimes even our homes. The Prosecution believed that the original plan was to kidnap Ashlea using a pistol to threaten her and kill her at a different location but she put up a fight when they entered her apartment and they killed her there instead. Police arrested him as he could not produce his driver's license when asked. A key belonging to another assistant store manager was left in the night deposit box. Mallory and his girlfriend Carter Carol Cervantez, 28, plotted to kill Harris Harris, 31, was the store manager of an American Eagle store in Fort Worth, TX Mallory and Cervantez bound Harris . Cheyenne Roundtree For Dailymail.com Jeans with FWPD Crime Scene Unit. Another video from Texas Appliances on the north side of the mall captures Cervantez walking away from the mall towards her apartment. David received the same sentence on August 24, 2017. Cedillo went to the American Eagle store where Harris' boss was waiting for the owners to open up. Cervantez received life in prison without the possibility of parole. 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. The Court heard about Ashlea's injuries. It didn't last long. He called 911 when his carbon monoxide detector wentoff and he realized there was a fire. 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? In her testimony, Cervantez describes abusive behavior from Mallory, who she says threatened to kill her family if she didnt comply with his orders. Cravey fired Cervantez because she had left the store unsecured. In August 2016, Clarence David Mallory was found guilty of murder one after one hour of jury deliberation. The two disappeared after the theft and were not arrested until police tracked them down on Dec. 6. He observed. At a minimum, this took at least a month of planning. Carter and David were convicted of beating, strangling, and bounding Ashlea and setting fire to her4701 King Ranch Road apartment onNovember 28, 2014, morning. Water was spraying from the overhead sprinkling system, but Ashlea did not answer when he called out to her. with the Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office testified to Ashlea Harriss cause of death. Nobody knew for certain whether Ashlea was inside or not. Chris Cravey had gotten all the locks changed upon hearing about Ashleas murder. They founda plastic tub that contained bungee cords and arope. While the homicide took place nearly 6 hours. | Sign In, Verdict Corrections Domestic violence speaks many languages, has many colors and lives in many different communities. It turns out that Clarence was also a former employee of American Eagle. The Ashlea Harris murder. His name was Clarence David Mallory. In the parking lot was a black two-door infiniti like the one seen at the crime scene. The Prosecutor,Kevin Rousseau,told the Jury: "There are no good murders. At 6:56 am Alexis noticed a missed call from Ashlea. It was a black Infiniti G35. She then walks to American Eagle and goes out of view. 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. 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. Carter did hold this against Ashlea, because Ashlea was the one that turned them in, said Groen. Police believed she saw them talking with Clarence in the car park and walked the two miles home. He asked if she would be willing to go downtown to be interviewed and she agreed. Harris was born in 1983 and grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. There are a lot of people at her apartment complex, which says a lot about the defendants in this case.'. s asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head and neck. It was the Prosecution's case that Carter and Clarencehad a couple of different reasons to want to harm Ashlea. (Joyce Marshall)</p> Author: WFAA Staff Published:. Close to $18,000 was missing from the safe. Cervantez is arrested in Lubbock and Mallory is taken into custody in Amarillo. She told the Court that she left Ashlea's apartment after 4am the morning of the 28th of November and that when she left, Ashlea locked the door. The trial for the horrific murder of an American Eagle employee on Black Friday began this week in Fort Worth, TX. At that point, no one other than law enforcement knew that there was any keys missing. She enters the mall at 7:56 am on November 29th. Police were contacted when the theft was discovered, but I dont know if they questioned Mallory or Cervantez. He then radioed for police and a crime scene unit to come to the scene. Prosecutors charged Cervantez with murder one and did not seek the death penalty. 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. He went searching for the reason it was going off and then noticed water dripping from the bathroom ceiling. Steven Lee was an ex-cop who lived downstairs and diagonally across from Ashlea Harris. They raped her for not following through with the robbery. 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. They were not able to open the gate and promptly left. Cervantez was the assistant store manager who was to lock up the night of the theft. 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. As word of the fire spread throughout the community, Harris friends rushed to the scene, desperate for information. Harris hands and feet were bound with duct tape, police said. Jeff Kayser to testify. He is 22 years old. According to news reports, Carter was an assistant store manager at the time, along with 31-year-oldAshlea Ann Harris. These included a receipt for a cutaway practice lock that had been mailed to Cervantez & Mallorys apartment and a lock picking instruction manual. 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. The keys seemed to be the only thing missing from her apartment. Cervantes was later located at her apartment and agreed to meet with detectives. arrived on the scene. Patrick Sweet lived in the apartmentbelow Ashlea's apartment and hetold police that he heard a thump, screaming and heavy breathing. Cervantez pleads not guilty. Fort Worth is located in north-central Texas. After missing several shifts, he was fired and barred from working at other American Eagle stores. He met his girlfriend Carter Cervantez there. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Detective Cedillo decided to stake out Cervantez and Mallorys apartment arriving around 3:45 am on Saturday, November 29, 2014. Detective Jerry Cedillo with the Ft. Worth Police Department Homicide Unit arrived at 10:22 am. Helived downstairs and diagonally across from Ashlea. The Prosecution called Jeff Kayser to testify. In August 2014, a hooded burglar had stolen $18,000 from the American Eagle Hulen Mall store following Texas Sales Tax Holiday Weekend. The 31-year-old was an assistant manager at the American Eagle Outfitters store in the Abilene mall in Texas. He heard the door of Ashlea's apartment close and when he looked out his window, he saw ablack Infiniti G35 driving away. While they were let go initially, the investigators had search warrants for their apartment and car. Under the drivers seat was a 9mm Glock with a round still in the chamber. Law enforcement officials arrested 19-year-old Clarence Malloy and 25-year-old Carter Carol Cervantez in the murder of Ashlea Harris, the victim of an early morning fire. The deposit was somewhere between $40,000 to $50,000. Authorities discovered Harris' body face down on her scorched bed with her ankles and wrists bound on Nov. 28, 2014, the. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Ashlea has suffered numerous injuries to her face and head indicating that there were multiple blows. Harris' hands and feet were bound in duct tape, reports CBS affiliate KHOU, which cites court documents filed by Fort Worth police. Cedillo went to the American Eagle store where Harris' boss was waiting for the owners to open up. She and her. They stalked Ashlea Harris like people stalk a deer.'. At that point is where it all becomes apparent why they killed Ashlea Harris. They later found her at her apartment complex doing laundry. The two men, who were strangers to her, were invited into the apartment by Clarence and she was raped by both of them. She was the youngest of three girls.