A North Texas man has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman whose body was found near Grapevine Lake last week.
Daniel Burch, 35, has been charged with murder in the death of Jennifer Holmes, according to Grapevine police. The charges come after Burch reportedly confirmed his involvement to Grapevine detectives during the investigation, per Irving Weekly.
Holmes’ body was found on the afternoon of July 6 close to the spillway on the right side of the Grapevine Dam. She had multiple gunshot wounds to her head and chest.
Multiple agencies helped with the extraction of the body, including the Grapevine Fire Department, Flower Mound Fire Department, and a game warden, per The Irving Weekly.
Police were able to confirm the identity of the body the following day.
Around 2:30 a.m. on July 5, an Army Corps of Engineers employee reportedly heard gunshots near the area and spotted a man getting into a white two-door car, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Fox 4 KDFW.
Police were called and arrived at the scene, where they found three .40 caliber bullet casings in the area. When detectives later searched Burch’s car, they allegedly found a handgun and Holmes’ cell phone, per Fox 4.
The two were close friends, and Holmes had been living with Burch because her house in Coppell had burned down earlier in the year.
Burch allegedly told officials that Holmes returned home around 11 p.m. on July 4 after drinking with neighbors, per Fox 4. He purportedly claimed the two were arguing and he had attempted to calm Holmes down by driving to the lake.
The affidavit states that Burch claimed Holmes exited the vehicle during the drive, and he then purportedly shot her after she pushed him, per Fox 4. He allegedly admitted to putting Holmes back into his car and dropping her off at the lake.
Burch is currently in custody at Tarrant County Jail and has a bond set at $150,000, per Irving Weekly.
Nearby in Dallas, crime increased in the City for the first four months of the year — allegedly the only time period for which statistics are presently available due to a ransomware attack in early May. Homicides within the city increased by 23% through April compared to the same timespan one year earlier. More recent crime statistics are currently “unreliable.”
Attempts to reduce crime in Dallas have been hindered by a shortage of police officers. Roughly 4,000 officers are needed in Dallas to actively manage crime, but the Dallas Police Department only employs about 3,100 officers at present.
Downtown Dallas in particular struggles with crime. Last fall, a dedicated police unit was created for Deep Ellum. In comparison, neighboring Fort Worth has dedicated police patrols for its downtown area, including private security help to reduce crime, leading to a drastic difference in crime rates between the two cities.