The Ashlea Harris Murder

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Ashlea Harris was a manager at American Eagle
Ashlea Harris was a manager at American Eagle Outfitters Hans Olav Lien [CC BY-SA]

The Ashlea Harris murder. A mysterious fire, missing keys, and a black sports car.  What did they all have in common on Black Friday 2014?  Listen to the story of how Ashlea Harris fought for her life upsetting the plans of two nefarious killers who wanted a big pay off.

Fort Worth at night - David via flickr / CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
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Fort Worth at night David / CC BY 2.0

Location:  Fort Worth, Tx

Fort Worth is located in north-central Texas. It is the13th largest city in the US. Forth Worth was originally settled in 1849 as a US Army outpost to protect pioneers settling out west.

Today, Ft. Worth is a thriving city of approximately 800,000 residents.

I became interested in this case after listening to Dateline Podcast from November 29, 2019 episode entitled “Black Friday.” I had some questions that weren’t answered on the show and thought I’d see what I could find.

November 28, 2014 Black Friday

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. The apartment belonged to 31-year-old Ashlea Harris who resided there with her dog, Nala.

Before fire and rescue workers arrived a neighbor, Jeff Kayser, kicked in her door calling out for her and Nala. The apartment was filled with smoke. Water was spraying from the overhead sprinkling system, but Ashlea did not answer when he called out to her. The neighbor attempted several times to get into Ashlea’s apartment but was forced out each time due to the heavy smoke

Around 8 am Ft. Worth Fire Department Lt. Jarrod Pavlechko arrived on the scene. He determined the source of all the smoke was coming from the bedroom and specifically the bed. He opened a window in the bedroom to air it out. 

It was then he saw a body. From what he could make out it was a female lying face down on the floor in front of the bed. When he went to touch her, he saw that her wrists and ankles were duct-taped.

Ashlea Harris looked to have severe head trauma. Her throat had been cut and she had been set on fire. He was unable to find a pulse. He then radioed for police and a crime scene unit to come to the scene.

Ashlea Harris

Ashlea Harris worked as an assistant store manager for American Eagle Outfitters located in the Hulen Mall. She is described by the store manager, Chris Cravey, as being a “phenomenal employee who was loved by everyone.”

Ashlea was the mom of the store. She came from a blended family. It included her mother, Monica Cassity, stepfather “Daddy Chuck”, her father Tommy Harris Sr. and her stepmom Mary Reddy. She was the youngest of three girls.

Ashlea worked on November 27th from 5:30 pm until 3:12 am to prep the store for Black Friday.

The term Black Friday originated in Philadelphia to describe heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic on the day after Thanksgiving. Today it marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Many retailers have special markdowns and people lose their minds trying to snatch up the bargains.

Ashlea Harris arrived home to her apartment around 3:25 am. A friend of hers, Alexis Torres came over. Alexis usually watched Ashlea’s dog Nala when she worked. Her friend left around 4:40 am with Ashlea locking the door behind her. At 6:56 am Alexis noticed a missed call from Ashlea. When she tried to call her back Ashlea didn’t pick up.

7:30 am

A downstairs neighbor, Patrick Sweet, was lying in bed when he heard a loud scream.  He had looked at his alarm clock and saw the time was 7:30 am. He continued to lie in bed wondering what was going on in his upstairs neighbor’s apartment  (Ashlea’s apartment). Then he heard a loud thump right above him as Ashlea’s bedroom was directly above his. Next, he heard what sounded like heavy labored breathing.

Infiniti G35 Sedan
Infiniti G35 Sedan (public domain)

Patrick was thinking about trying to find out what was going on when he heard Ashlea’s front door open and then close. When he looked out the window he witnessed a dark-colored vehicle driving away. He identified it as a black Infiniti G35. It had its lights off as it left the parking space in front of Ashlea’s apartment.

Patrick thought that perhaps someone had come to pick Ashlea Harris up for work as her pick-up truck remained in its parking space. So he laid back down to try to fall back asleep, but that’s when the carbon monoxide detector went off. He went searching for the reason it was going off and then noticed water dripping from the bathroom ceiling.

Assuming that there may be a fire in Ashlea’s apartment he dialed 911. Then he gathered up some belongings, moved his car away from the building, and waited for the fire department to arrive.

Fire Investigation

Fort Worth, TX Fire Department
Fort Worth, TX Fire Department Neuwieser [CC BY-SA 2.0]

Fire investigator, Wallace Hood, with the Ft. Worth Fire Department arrived on the scene around 8:45 am. The fire had been extinguished by then. He was able to determine that the fire had multiple points of origin. These included the bed, the closet, and Ashlea’s body

When he went to see why the smoke detector had not gone off he noticed it had been removed and placed under the mattress. Wallace also determined that the ignition source was an open flame. This was most likely a lighter and the accelerant was rubbing alcohol. A bottle of it found near the body.

He ruled out accidental causes for the reason for the fire and concluded that the fire was set on purpose.

Police Investigation

Detective Jerry Cedillo with the Ft. Worth Police Department Homicide Unit arrived at 10:22 am. Police began talking to neighbors including Patrick Sweet, who told them about the unusual sounds he heard coming from Ashlea’s apartment that morning. He also described seeing the dark-colored vehicle driving away shortly after hearing Ashlea’s front door close.

Steven Lee was an ex-cop who lived downstairs and diagonally across from Ashlea Harris. 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. When he left for work around 7:30 am the car was still there. It was a black Infiniti G35 with a faded toll sticker on its roof.

Detective Cedillo wanted to search Ashlea’s pick-up truck. When he went to get her keys he was unable to locate them. Ashlea’s 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. The keys seemed to be the only thing missing from her apartment. The keyring also had the front gate key and store key on them.

The M.E. arrived on the scene. 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. She was tentatively identified by her tattoos.

The Black Infinity

Detective Cedillo spoke to Chris Cravey, who was Ashlea’s boss at American Eagle, and asked if he knew anyone who drove a black Infinity. Cravey indicated that he did. Chris was in the parking lot and had been talking to Alexis Torres, who was the last person to talk to Ashlea Harris.

She told Chris police were asking about an Infiniti G35. Chris went over to Detective Cedillo to tell him what he knew. Chris told police that a former employee at American Eagle, Carter Carol Cervantez, drove a similar car. 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. It turns out that Clarence was also a former employee of American Eagle. The couple lived only two miles from Ashlea’s apartment.

Who are Cervantez & Mallory

Clarence “David” Mallory (age 19) had previously worked for American Eagle at their Amarillo location. He met his girlfriend Carter Cervantez there. He was eventually labeled as “non-rehirable” in the American Eagle system. They had been dating which was a violation of store policy. 

The district manager decided to give Cervantez a fresh start. She transferred to the Hulen Mall location and held an assistant store manager position. Once there, she re-hired Mallory. She switched his first name with his middle name and changed two digits of his social security number. This was done while Chris Cravey was out on medical leave

Ashlea Harris was outgoing and personable while the other assistant store manager, Carter was more straight-laced and reserved.

August 24, 2014

Ashlea was appointed to run the store while Cravey was out on medical leave. When Ashlea arrived for work she discovered that a theft had occurred sometime overnight. Close to $18,000 was missing from the safe. Ashlea immediately contacted loss prevention, Chris Cravey, and the district manager.

Cravey and Ashlea watched the store surveillance video. Ashlea felt that the perpetrator was Mallory. Another store employee watched the video and agreed with Ashlea based on the suspect’s physical appearance. The video showed what looked to be a male wearing a hoodie entering the back door. They went directly to the safe where the night deposits were kept, unlocked it, and took the cash inside. Somehow they avoided looking up at the camera.

A key belonging to another assistant store manager was left in the night deposit box. This manager did not close the store that night and did not appear to have the same build as the person in the video. Cervantez was the assistant store manager who was to lock up the night of the theft.

Fired

One week later Cravey called Cervantez. She admitted to not locking the back door the night of the theft. Cravey fired Cervantez because she had left the store unsecured. Cervantez asked to speak to the regional manager about her firing, but in the end, handed over her store keys.

By this time, Mallory had failed to show up for work on three consecutive days when he was scheduled. In addition, he did not call in to request off. He was also fired per store policy.

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. Police were contacted when the theft was discovered, but I don’t know if they questioned Mallory or Cervantez. No charges were filed against the two.

Back to the Investigation

Detective Cedillo decided to stake out Cervantez and Mallory’s apartment arriving around 3:45 am on Saturday, November 29, 2014. He spotted the black Infinity in the apartment parking lot. At 7:45 am he witnessed Cervantez and Mallory exit their apartment and get into the black Infinity. He followed them as Mallory drove to the Hulen Mall.

He saw Cervantez exit the vehicle wearing and enter the mall. She was wearing a grey sweatshirt and a black hat. Mallory drove the car to another mall exit. Detective Cedillo radioed dispatch and asked them to send a marked patrol call to the mall. He requested that they stop the black Infinity if they witnessed any type of traffic violation.

Detective Cedillo entered the mall looking for Cervantez but was unable to find her. In the meantime, Detective Pate, Cedillo’s partner, made contact with Mallory. He asked him why he was in the parking lot so early in the morning. Mallory claimed that he was waiting for his girlfriend, who worked at Aeropostale. She was inside getting some paperwork she needed to complete.

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. Police asked Mallory to see his driver’s license which he told them he did not have on him.  Since this was a violation they took him into custody.

Meanwhile

Detective Cedillo went back to Cervantez apartment and found her in the laundry room this time wearing pink scrubs. He asked if she would be willing to go downtown to be interviewed and she agreed.

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. They were not able to open the gate and promptly left.

Chris Cravey had gotten all the locks changed upon hearing about Ashlea’s murder. The detectives talked to two American Eagle employees who had been locked out due to the locks being changed. They were scheduled to make a deposit that morning of the proceeds from the Black Friday sales. The deposit was somewhere between $40,000 to $50,000.

Search Warrants

On November 29th search warrants were obtained for Cervantez and Mallory’s apartment, the black Infinity, and Mallory’s Cadillac. At the apartment, detectives found a box containing a taser in the trash, strands of duct tape, and a damaged deadbolt lock. They also found another lock labeled “lock picking practice lock”.

Police conducted a second search of the apartment on December 4th and found a key in the kitchen trash can. The key opened the dressing room and storage closet at Hulen Mall American Eagle. This key was not in the trash during the first search.

The Black Infiniti G35 was searched by Officer J.J. Jeans with FWPD Crime Scene Unit. He took photos of the various items found in the car. 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, men’s 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. Under the driver’s seat was a 9mm Glock with a round still in the chamber.

Various documents were found. These included a receipt for a cutaway practice lock that had been mailed to Cervantez & Mallory’s apartment and a lock picking instruction manual. He was able to unlock the trunk of Mallory’s Cadillac using keys found in the black Infiniti. Inside he found 2 shovels and a box of plastic sheeting.

Cell Phone Searches and Video Surveillance

Upon searching Mallory’s cell phone there were text messages that contained latitude and longitude coordinates. When Detective Cedillo entered the coordinates it came up to a specific location near Lueders, Texas. At that location, Detective Cedillo found what he describes as a “human grave”. It was approximately 6 ft. long, 2 ½ ft wide and 3 feet deep.

In reviewing the mall’s video surveillance Detective Cedillo saw Cervantez enter the mall wearing the same clothing he had seen her leave her apartment in. She enters the mall at 7:56 am on November 29th. She then walks to American Eagle and goes out of view. Video from American Eagle picks her up approaching the gate. She bends down to unlock it but is unable to. She quickly walks away.

Another video from Texas Appliances on the north side of the mall captures Cervantez walking away from the mall towards her apartment. Both Mallory and Cervantez are questioned and released despite both being caught lying and contradicting each other. After more evidence is gathered they are arrested on December 4, 2014. Each is charged with one count of capital murder.

Cervantez is arrested in Lubbock and Mallory is taken into custody in Amarillo. Both are held on a $100,000 bond.

Trial

Cervantez was the first to go to trial in May 2016. Prosecutors laid out a case that Cervantez wanted revenge and payback for getting fired. She stole Ashlea’s keys to commit another theft with an even bigger payoff. Prosecutors charged Cervantez with murder one and did not seek the death penalty. Cervantez pleads not guilty.

Dr. Richard Fries, deputy M.E. with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office testified to Ashlea Harris’s cause of death. Ashlea has suffered numerous injuries to her face and head indicating that there were multiple blows. She was strangled, her throat cut, and ultimately asphyxiated. There was no smoke in her lungs indicating she was not alive when the fire was set. There were also no signs that a taser had been used on her.

Cervantez’s Story

Cervantez alleges that she did not commit the murder and was asleep in her apartment when Harris was robbed and killed. She claims that Mallory drove her to the Hulen Mall not once, but twice. He forced her to enter and rob American Eagle at gunpoint and threatened to kill her family if she didn’t do what he asked.

When she was unable to get in the store the first time she walked back to the car. Mallory drove her back to their apartment and friends of Mallory were waiting inside. They raped her for not following through with the robbery.

Video surveillance of the mall showed that at 2 am on Saturday morning someone tried to open the security gate at American Eagle. The next day, Mallory drove her back to try again.

Prosecutors Rebuttal

Prosecutors showed video surveillance from Home Depot a week before Ashlea Harris was murdered. It showed Cervantez buying two shovels, a rope, bungee cords, gloves, and a tarp.

Cervantez claimed that the grave was not for Ashlea Harris, but for her.

Prosecutors also showed evidence that Cervantez and Mallory were planning to rob the American Eagle in Abilene (where they had previously worked). There were extensive text messages between the two as they watched the store. This was two weeks before Ashlea’s murder

Clarence David Mallory took the 5th when he was brought in to testify.

On May 26, 2016, twenty-seven-year-old Carter Carol Cervantez was found guilty of capital murder. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

David Mallory Trial

In August 2016, Clarence David Mallory was found guilty of murder one after one hour of jury deliberation. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is 22 years old.

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