Disturbing details have emerged in the case of a Garland man who was stabbed to death earlier this month at his home on Chaha Road.
Officers found the body of 53-year-old Johnny Mack Ross Jr. wrapped in sheets and a rug in the closet of his condominium on November 11.
The individual who alerted police of the body, Jaylen Gray, told officers that he bought a Corvette from a friend, Haley Barber, who told him it had belonged to her “grandfather who passed away.”
Gray stopped by Ross’s condominium, where his friends Barber and Leo Moore were temporarily living, to pick up a spare key for the vehicle. Gray noticed a foul smell and asked Barber about it. He said Barber casually showed him the body in the spare bedroom closet and then offered him some ice cream.
“I said, ‘Nah, I’m good. I don’t want it,'” Gray told Fox 4 KDFW. “I had to keep my composure. It was kinda hard.”
Gray said he saw Barber “sniffing a white powdery substance off the dresser” while he was at Barber’s home. Police said in the affidavit that remnants of drugs had been found in the house.
After leaving the condominium, Gray reported what he had seen to the Garland Police Department.
When officers arrived at the home to investigate, no one answered the door. Later, police apprehended Barber, 20, and her alleged accomplice, Leo Moore, also 20, after a brief car chase. The two were riding in Ross’s Mercedes at the time.
According to the police affidavit, the suspects admitted to plotting the murder to steal Ross’s money and vehicles.
Both suspects told police that Moore stabbed Ross in the neck while the homeowner was sleeping on the couch. The two suspects left the condo after the stabbing and returned about ten hours later to discover that Ross was still alive, so Barber reportedly told Moore to “finish him off” by stabbing him again.
Barber and Moore, who are both Mesquite residents, had been living temporarily with Ross, and Ross was dating Barber, according to Ross’ long-time friend, Ronnie Majors.
“Johnny was a very generous person. If he loved you and he cared about you, he’s going to take care of you and help you out and I definitely think she took advantage of that,” Majors said, per NBC 5 DFW.
Majors described Ross as a father, friend, and musician who was loyal, dependable, and funny.
“Almost every single friend in his life, including me, they’ve all known him, some have known him as long as elementary school. That says a lot about a person in itself,” Majors told NBC 5.
Gray told Fox 4 that he never suspected his friends could be alleged killers, and at first, he was apprehensive about stepping forward with information for the police.
“Would they, you know, stab me?” Gray said.
Barber and Moore are currently in the Dallas County Jail, and their bonds have been set at $1 million each, per Fox 4.