Police: Couple beat, strangled, burned woman

Two people with ties to Amarillo have been arrested in connection with the murder of a Fort Worth woman who police said was beaten, strangled and bound before her body was set on fire in her apartment on Black Friday.

Fort Worth police said the body of Ashlea Ann Harris, 31, was found in her Fort Worth apartment after a downstairs neighbor reported a fire on the morning of Nov. 28. After a week-long investigation, two of Harris' former coworkers were arrested. Clarence David Mallory Jr., 19, and Carter Carol Cervantez, 25, were each charged with one count of capital murder and one count of theft, $15,000 or more and less than $20,000.

According to documents from the Fort Worth Police Department, about 8:04 a.m., firefighters responded to reports of a fire at 4701 King Ranch Road, Apt. 1505, after receiving multiple reports of smoke and a possible fire. Firefighters put out a fire burning in the bedroom and discovered the body of Harris face down on the floor at the foot of the bed.

Harris' ankles were bound with duct tape, as were her hands, which were bound behind her back. There was blood on the floor by her head and her opened wallet was on the bathroom sink, the documents said.

Medical examiners called to the scene tentatively identified Harris by her tattoos. They determined Harris had suffered blunt force trauma to her face and head and trauma related to strangulation on her neck and throat.

Harris' body and several areas of the bedroom were partially burned and an empty bottle of rubbing alcohol was found by the body. Firefighters said the fire appeared to have been started using accelerants, secured what they thought to be an "obvious murder crime scene" and requested a response from homicide detectives.

Detectives spoke with neighbors and friends of Harris and found she was an assistant manager at the American Eagle Outfitters store in Hulen Mall. Coworkers told police Harris had worked from about 5:30 p.m. Nov. 27 to about 3:12 p.m. Nov. 28 in preparation for the store's Black Friday sales.

Harris arrived home about 3:25 a.m. and met with a friend who left her apartment about 4:40 a.m. The friend told police Harris would usually leave her keys, which included her work keys on days she worked, and her wallet on the kitchen counter. Harris' keys, which included a key to the store gate and the store safe, were the only things identified as missing from the apartment during the crime scene investigation.

Police also spoke with a downstairs neighbor who told them he heard a loud thump, screaming and heavy breathing about 7:30 a.m.

He called 911 a few minutes later when his carbon monoxide detector went off and water began pouring through his roof from Harris'. While he was calling, he looked out the window and saw a black, two-door Infiniti G35 with its lights off leaving the parking space in front of Harris' apartment.

The man said he had never seen the vehicle in the parking lot before. Another neighbor told police the same thing and mentioned the vehicle had a toll tag.

Police learned from Harris' coworkers that she had reported Cervantez and her boyfriend, Mallory, as suspects in a burglary at the store on Aug. 24. Cervantez, who was also an assistant store manager at the time, was seen on surveillance footage leaving the back door of the store unlocked. After the store closed, a male in a hoodie is seen entering the store and going directly to the safe.

The following day, the opening manager discovered a deposit of $17,850.32 had been stolen from the safe.

Mallory failed to return to work for his three scheduled shifts after the burglary. Mallory and Cervantez were terminated after the robbery and Cervantez's manager keys were confiscated. Neither was charged nor arrested in the burglary.

Coworkers also told police that Cervantez drove a two-door black Infiniti G35 or G37 and provided photos of the vehicle and Mallory from Instagram. Police ran the license plate on the Infiniti and were able to find an address in Fort Worth for Cervantez and Mallory.

Police began surveillance of the pair's apartment on Nov. 29 at 3:45 a.m. About 7:45 a.m., the two entered the black Inifniti and drove to Hullen Mall and Cervantez entered the mall while Mallory drove around to another exit. Patrol officers approached Mallory and questioned why he was at the mall. Mallory told officers he was waiting for his girlfriend who worked at the Aeropostale store inside.

Police spoke with an Aeropostale employee in the mall and found Cervantez was not employed there.

They also spoke with two employees who were locked out of the American Eagle store because the locks had been changed after Harris' murder. The employees told them they were scheduled to make the deposit from the Black Friday sales that morning and would have exited near where Mallory was parked.

The deposit was between $40,000 and $50,000, the employees said. Police said Cervantez had worked for American Eagle for several years and would have been familiar with the amount of sales conducted on Black Friday.

Mallory was arrested for not having a driver's license on his person and taken to the homicide office for questioning.

After obtaining a search warrant, police found ski masks, a 9 mm handgun, a single walkie-talkie and a visual guide to lock picking in the vehicle.

Police found Cervantez at her apartment, and officers said they think she walked home after going into the mall. She agreed to be taken to the homicide office for questioning.

Surveillance from inside and outside the mall shows Cervantez entering the mall and attempting unsuccessfully to unlock the gate, then walking from the mall in the direction of her residence.

During questioning, Cervantez and Mallory contradicted each other's stories and surveillance footage about their whereabouts for the three days prior to questioning. Cervantez denied being at the mall on Nov. 29. Police also suspected Cervantez and Mallory to be "great flight risks" as neither had ties to Fort Worth, but to Amarillo and Lubbock.

Texas Department of Motor Vehicles records show at least one vehicle each in Mallory's and Cervantez's names are registered at addresses in Amarillo.

On Dec. 5, Mallory was taken into custody at a private residence in Amarillo by Amarillo-based members of the United States Marshal Service North Texas Fugitive Task Force without incident. He was booked into Potter County jail and then transported the Fort Worth Police Homicide Unit to be interviewed by detectives.

On Dec. 6, Cervantez was taken into custody by Tarrant County deputies and transported to the Fort Worth jail.

Both are being held on a bond of $100,000 each.