The Murder of Ashlea Harris
Ashlea Ann Harris was born in 1983, and grew up in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas area.
By the time she was in her 20’s, Ashlea worked her way up to assistant manager of American Eagle at Hulen Mall. She loved working in retail, and meeting new people.
Ashlea was described as vivacious, and had a large group of friends.
Ashlea Harris
The Murder
On November 28, 2014, a call came into the Ft. Worth Fire Department. The caller said that there was a fire at the River Ranch Apartments, and that he believed it was coming from the apartment above him.
One of Ashlea’s friends, Jeff, ran to Ashlea’s apartment to check on her. He was let in by one of the maintenance workers. Ashlea’s dog was there, and ran out, but there was no answer when they called out to Ashlea. Jeff left the apartment because it was too smokey.
When the fire department arrived, they found Ashlea in her bedroom. Ashlea’s hands and feet were bound, but it was clear the fire hadn’t killed her. Ashlea had trauma to her head and neck, and there was blood everywhere.
Ashlea was positively identified after her drivers license was found nearby. The fire department called in the Ft. Worth police.
Ashlea’s Last Movements
There was no sign of a struggle in the living room of the apartment, and there was no sign of forced entry. Jeff revealed to the police that the door had been locked when he arrived.
The arson experts had determined that the accelerant that had been used was rubbing alcohol, which isn’t very flammable.
Ashlea’s white Ford pickup truck was still parked outside, but her keys to the truck were missing. The police believed that whoever had killed Ashlea had locked the door when they left.
The police spoke to Ashlea’s friend, Alexis, who had arrived at the scene. Alexis said that Ashlea had been working around the clock preparing for Black Friday. Alexis said she went to Ashlea’s around 3am, as she had been watching the dog while Ashlea worked. Ashlea’s plans had been to sleep for a few hours, and return to work around 7 or 8am. Alexis said she left at 4:45am, and heard Ashlea lock the door behind her.
Alexis also told the police where Ashlea usually kept her work and truck keys. The police now knew that both sets were missing.
The Suspicious Car
One of Ashlea’s neighbors, a retired California police officer, told the police that he saw a suspicious car around 7am. The neighbor usually smoked a cigarette, and knew most of the vehicles that his neighbors drove. He said he saw a black Infiniti G35, and that the car parked right next to Ashlea’s truck.
Ashlea’s manager, Chris, had overheard the conversation, and said he knew who drove that car. Chris said that the black Infiniti belonged to Carter Cervantez, 25.
Carter had been a manger at an American Eagle in Amarillo before she transferred to the Ft. Worth store. Carter had became involved in a relationship with a 19-year-old named David Mallory. Carter and David’s relationship was frowned upon, so Carter was given the option to transfer. David never showed up for work again in Amarillo, and was put on do not hire again list.
David ended up moving to Ft. Worth, and in with Carter. Carter was able to cheat the system by changing David’s social security number, and got him a job at the Ft. Worth store.
A Motive
In August 2014, someone had broken into the American Eagle, and stole about $18,000 from the safe.
On the surveillance footage, a thin man can be seen taking the money. It was clear the person had knowledge of the store. Ashlea reviewed the surveillance footage, and told her managers that it was David Mallory. The managers were able to determine that Carter had worked the night before, and left the door propped open when she took the garbage out. David had access to Carter’s keys, and Carter knew when the safe had the most cash.
The American Eagle robbery surveillance
Carter was fired, and David stopped showing up for work. It was clear that Carter and David had a motive for wanting Ashlea dead. Ashlea’s autopsy report revealed that whoever had killed her was very angry. Ashlea’s cause of death was asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head and neck. Ashlea had been cut in the head, stomped, and had ligature marks on her neck. Ashlea had died shortly before the murder was set.
The Surveillance
On Saturday, November 29, the police followed Carter and David to the Hulen Mall around 7:45am. They had been surveilling their apartment since the night before.
Carter got out of the car wearing dark clothing, but David stayed in the car. The police followed Carter into the mall, and ran into Chris, Ashlea’s manager. Chris had been waiting for his managers to let him into the store. After Ashlea’s death, the locks had been changed at the store.
David was confronted by the police, and was arrested for not having his drivers license on his person. David claimed they were at the mall because Carter was filling out new employee paperwork.
The police went back to Carter and David’s apartment, and saw Carter was now in pink scrubs. Carter agreed to answer questions down at the police station. Carter was asked where she was the day before. She claimed she and David had Thanksgiving dinner together, and watched movies.
The police didn’t believe her, and left her alone in the interrogation room. They handed her a bottle of water, and watched as she wiped down the water bottle and cap with a tissue. After she wiped it down, she didn’t touch the bottle again.
The police asked Carter about her trip to the mall that morning. But, Carter denied she was there. The police had already obtained the mall surveillance footage. On the footage, Carter can be seen wearing dark clothing attempting to unlock the gate at American Eagle. Carter had stolen Ashlea’s keys, but wasn’t expecting the locks to have been changed. She was later seen in her pink scrubs, which police believed she had been wearing under her dark clothing.
The Evidence
The police obtained a search warrant for David and Carter’s apartment. Inside, they found some receipts. On November 21, Carter had purchased a “murder kit,” two shovels, rope, gloves, a tarp, and duct tape.
In Carter’s car, the police found a loaded Glock, several knives, and David and Carter’s cell phones. In David's car, they found the shovels, and bungee cords, and a tarp.
Ashlea’s blood had also been found on the floor mat of Carter’s car. It had been transferred from David’s boot.
The police were able to compare a star shaped injury behind Ashlea’s ear and on the bridge of her nose to the Glock. The injuries were consistent with her having been pistol whipped.
David and Carter had also been texting about planning the murder. David had also texted Carter some coordinates, which led the police to a dug grave out in the middle of nowhere. The police determined that Carter and David gave up on their plan to bury Ashlea on the night they killed her. They set a fire to her apartment instead, to try to get rid of the evidence.
On December 4, David and Carter were both charged with capital murder.
The Convictions
At Carter’s trial, her defense tried to claim that David controlled her, and was the true mastermind behind the robbery and murder.
On May 26, 2016, Carter Cervantez was convicted of murder. She was sentenced to life in prison. The police believe she was the mastermind.
In 2017, David Mallory was also convicted, and sentenced to life without parole.
David Mallory and Carter Cervantez
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think both Carter and David are both just as responsible as the other. Carter was probably more upset that they were fired after they were caught. Ashlea was just doing her job, and reported the robbery as any good manager would do. Ashlea probably had no idea that they would hurt her, but they did in such a brutal way. At least justice has been served, and they will rot in prison for the rest of their lives.
Sources
https://www.chillingcrimes.com/blogs/news/ashlea-harris
https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/ashlea-harris-killed-by-former-hulen-mall-employees
https://criminaldiscoursepodcast.com/the-ashlea-harris-murder/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-ashlea-harris-strangled-by-former-co-workers/
https://www.amarillo.com/story/news/local/2014/12/06/man-killed-crash-near-pampa/13251242007/
