Family member arrested in girl's stabbing death in Carrollton

By Deanna Boyd

dboyd@star-telegram.com

A 23-year-old Carrollton man is in custody on a murder warrant in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 10-year-old girl visiting from Oklahoma, Carrollton police said Tuesday.

Jasmen Gonzalez's body was found Sunday, hours after police say she was abducted from a Carrollton apartment. She died from a stab wound to the chest, the Dallas County medical examiner's office reported Monday.

Jose Sifuentes, who had been in custody on an immigration hold, is a relative of Jasmen's by marriage, said Lt. Doug Mitchell of the Carrollton Police Department.

Search warrant affidavits indicate that Jasmen was shirtless and that her pants and underwear had been pulled down to her knees "in a manner consistent with sexual assault."

An employee of the medical examiner's office said he could not comment on whether Jasmen had been sexually assaulted.

Sifuentes had been at the apartment that she and her family were visiting, police said.

On Tuesday, Mitchell called the crime "beyond heinous."

"We want our citizens to know that they are safe," he said."That this was not some random act done by a stranger against a stranger. There's no predator roaming the streets snatching girls."

Mitchell said the murder charged could be upgraded.

"The charge that he's charged with is what the evidence that we presently have will support," Mitchell said.

Mitchell said Monday that Sifuentes was initially held on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention order. He said Tuesday that the suspect is believed to be in the country illegally, although he didn't know what country he is from.

Sifuentes was transferred from the Carrollton city jail to the Dallas County Jail on Tuesday morning

Sifuentes was among the adults in the apartment when Jasmen was last seen about 11:15 p.m. Saturday, according to search warrant affidavits in the case. About 15 minutes later, relatives realized that the girl was not in the bedroom where she had been sleeping.

"Once the occupants of the apartment realized that Jasmen was missing, they realized that Sifuentes was also missing for an approximate 15-minute period," the affidavit stated.

The bedroom has a door to the exterior of the apartment. Police initially considered that the girl might be a sleepwalker. Officers found Jasmen's glasses outside the apartment and soon began to suspect that she had been abducted, the affidavit stated.

Her body was found facedown shortly after 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the 1100 block of Clint Street, less than a mile away.

While speaking with investigators, police said, Sifuentes gave several "basic statements of deception, including lying about his date of birth and having tattoos."

The affidavit stated that two dogs trained to detect the odor of decaying human tissue alerted on Sifuentes' Lincoln Navigator while it was parked at the Carrollton police station.

In a search of the SUV, investigators seized items including a black-handled knife and samples of what appeared to be human blood. Police also seized clothing that Sifuentes had been wearing, affidavits show.

Police searched two other vehicles, including a red Chevy van owned by Jasmen's parents. Inside, officers found red fibers consistent with a red blanket. Relatives had told police that Jasmen had gone to sleep that night with a red blanket.

The blanket is among items that police are searching for, according to the affidavits.

"Investigators observed that there were numerous discrepancies between the time lines and events of the evening as described by the occupants of the apartment," one affidavit stated.

Mitchell said that in addition to the three vehicles, police also searched Sifuentes' Carrollton apartment and the apartment Jasmen's family was visiting.

"We recovered a lot of stuff, and they're still going through that," Mitchell said. "We're still early on in this investigation."

Deanna Boyd, 817-390-7655

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