#85 - Carter Cervantes *

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mug shot quite like that one. Carter Cervantes is obviously a very attractive young lady. At the same time, though, I don’t think I have ever seen such a stone-cold expression like that on anyone before.

It all started in 2014. Carter was an assistant manager at an American Eagle store in Amarillo, TX. There, she began a relationship with one of her subordinates, the much younger David Mallory.

Since that was against corporate policy, the company offered her two choices, quit or get transferred. She opted for the latter, moving to Ft Worth. David would in turn get fired – not for the relationship, but for simply not showing up at work.

A little different look

In Ft Worth, Carter managed to rehire David by fudging his Social Security number. That was really just a setup, though, for the two to rob the store of $18K after the tax-free Memorial Day weekend.

In response, another assistant manager, Ashlea Harris, took a gander at some security tape. There, she thought she saw Carter leave a back door unlocked and a hooded figure looking like David go straight to the store safe and quickly empty it of its contents. Though there wasn’t enough evidence to charge them, there was enough to get both fired. 

The victim

Carter didn’t take too well to that. Her next move was to combine a little revenge with another burglary. 

The first step was to confront Ashlea at her apartment. After beating, stabbing, strangling, and binding her, the couple then set fire to her apartment. On the way out, they made sure to take her keys.

The next step was to show up at the store super early on the morning after Black Friday. Fortunately, though, the locks had been changed. Security tapes did show someone looking very like Carter trying to get into the store, but coming up empty & briskly walking away.

And another look for the trial

The cops were able to nab David in the parking lot, then hold him for not having his drivers license. They found Carter at home, then had her come in for an interview. They would have to let both of them walk away though.

The next break came when Carter’s Infiniti was identified as being at the scene of Ashlea’s murder. Getting a search warrant, the police found a treasure trove of evidence at the couple’s apartment – the gun used to pistol whip the victim, a murder kit, blood in the vehicle, and phone chats planning everything.

The evidence was pretty overwhelming. Both would get life without parole. The case has been covered on Snapped and Dateline (as well as True Detective).