Police announced on Wednesday that an arrest has been made in connection with a double murder in Lewisville.
The two victims’ bodies were discovered at a residence in the 800 block of Ramblewood Drive, near Orchard Lane and West Main Street, around 5 p.m. on August 14. A relative of the victims visited the home after not hearing from them for several days, WFAA reported.
The victims were reportedly Hispanic and found in different rooms. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Lilia Fernandez Ortiz, 66, and Alejandro Arrellano-Fernandez, 43, as the victims, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
Police do not know when the murders took place, but some neighbors said they had not seen movement in the house for five days before the discovery.
Danny Talbert told Fox 4 that a foul smell came out when the garage was opened.
“You could stand right here. And when the wind blew, you could smell it,” Talbert said.
When asked whether the police had found any signs of forced entry, Matt Martucci, public information officer for the City of Lewisville, said to Fox 4, “Can’t get into that. You can see there is no damage to the front door, but I can’t say anything more about the investigation-wise more about that.”
Both victims were reportedly shot in the head.
The Lewisville Police Department said the suspect is being charged with capital murder.
In nearby Dallas, there have been 158 criminal homicides so far this year, according to a Dallas Police Department (DPD) report. Murders are up by more than 5% compared to the same period last year.
As Dallas police fight crime, they are hindered by a lack of staff. An analysis completed in 2015 determined that a city the size of Dallas needs roughly 4,000 police officers, but DPD currently only employs around 3,100.
The shortage has been especially felt in Downtown Dallas, which routinely logs considerably more criminal incidents than Fort Worth’s downtown area. The latter is patrolled by a dedicated police unit that works alongside private security guards.
