Police arrested a man in Austin on Tuesday in connection with the murder of Dallas resident Jenean Chapman.
The suspect has been identified as 48-year-old James Patrick, who was reportedly an on-and-off boyfriend before marrying Chapman this past July after six years of dating, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
Patrick was arrested on September 26 by University of Texas police just one day after Chapman was found dead inside her Downtown Dallas apartment on Monday, per CBS News Texas.
An autopsy performed by the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Chapman’s death was a homicide. Patrick is in custody in Travis County and will be charged with Chapman’s murder.
Jail records show that Patrick has been charged with an “out of county felony” and that he is being held for “another agency” on a $100,000 bond.
One of Chapman’s three sisters, Crystal Marshall, said Chapman moved to Texas five months ago.
“She’s had a plethora of accolades throughout the years, and then in her last role, she was a senior vice president at Critical Mass over digital marketing. Also, in conjunction with that, she was about to start her own business,” said Crystal, as reported by NBC 5 DFW.
Another one of Chapman’s sisters, Nicole Marshall, said Chapman’s relationship with Patrick “got really rocky” over the past year.
“We knew that they had arguments, and that’s typical in a relationship. It was a bit toxic, but we would never think it would be taken to this extreme where my sister would ultimately lose her life,” said Nicole, per Fox 4.
Nicole said her sister was an intellectual with a kind and compassionate heart who loved to volunteer.
“She was a force to be reckoned with, she was a role model. She was an amazing person, and I still look up to her. I always look up to her as like what I wanted to accomplish in my corporate career,” said Nicole, per NBC 5.
Anyone with information about Chapman’s death has been asked to contact Det. John Valdez at [email protected].
Murder has been on the rise in Dallas in recent months, with the City logging an increase of 8% year over year as of September 28, according to the City of Dallas crime overview dashboard.
The Dallas Police Department has struggled to get such offenses under control as it continues to operate without the 4,000 officers recommended by a City analysis. The department currently has fewer than 3,200 officers on staff.
Nearby Fort Worth has a dedicated special police unit that works alongside private security guards to patrol the downtown area. The unit has reportedly helped reduce crime, resulting in much lower crime rates compared to Downtown Dallas.
Chapman was murdered in Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2.