ARLINGTON -- Police say Thomas Olivas stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death and set her Arlington apartment on fire, killing her 1-year-old son the day before he was scheduled to take a court-ordered paternity test to determine whether he should pay her child support.
Olivas, 29, was arrested Monday night -- 18 months after the slayings -- without incident at a Hurst sports bar by the Arlington Police Department Fugitive Unit and the U.S. Marshals Dallas/Fort Worth Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team. Olivas, of Bedford, is being held in the Arlington Jail on a capital murder warrant in lieu of $1 million bail."This suspect has been a person of interest from the very beginning," Arlington police Sgt. Chris Cook said Tuesday. "The family is very elated that he is in custody. Hopefully justice will be served."Arlington firefighters discovered the bodies of Olivas' ex-girlfriend, Mechelle Gandy, and her son, Asher Olivas, on March 20, 2011, while responding to a fire shortly after 10 p.m. at Gandy's Presidents Corner apartment. The Tarrant County medical examiner's office concluded that Gandy, 26, died from multiple stab wounds to her chest and back, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.Asher Olivas, found lying in his crib, died in the fire but was alive when it was set, the medical examiner ruled."Asher is one year of age and would not have posed a threat to the killer in any manner, such as being a witness to the murder," Det. Byron Stewart wrote in the affidavit. "For the killer to walk into Asher's room and deliberately pour gasoline in the room ... shows that the killer deliberately killed Asher Olivas."Multiple threatsDetectives quickly began looking into Thomas Olivas' involvement in the deaths. Police learned from Gandy's family members and from another of Olivas' girlfriends about the ongoing child-support dispute concerning Asher.Former girlfriend Rebeca Raudry, with whom Olivas also had a child, told police that Olivas denied being Asher's father, referring to Asher in a Facebook exchange as the "Devil's child" and writing that he was not devastated by Gandy or Asher's deaths.Raudry also told police that Olivas was working two jobs around the time of the court-ordered paternity test and that if he had to pay child support to Gandy, it would have been "very devastating" financially.After Asher's death, it was established that Olivas is his biological father, according to the affidavit.In her application for a protective order against Olivas, Raudry stated that Olivas had assaulted her three times, including one time that left her seeking treatment at a hospital. The first two assaults, Raudry stated, occurred after she confronted Olivas about her suspicions that he was cheating on her with Gandy.On March 16, 2011, Raudry states that she talked to Olivas over the phone about separating, prompting him to become angry.When he arrived home a short time later, Olivas ordered her out of the apartment, and she and her children left, Raudry stated.Raudry said Olivas then began harassing her on the phone and on Facebook."On or about five days later in March 2011, the woman he had an affair with and her baby boy was murdered," Raudry stated. "Ever since the double homicide, I have been extremely nervous, confused, scared."In the months that followed, Raudry wrote that that Olivas threatened her and contacted her family and friends. She said the pair began talking again in July and that she allowed him to visit his daughter once or twice a week until early October 2011. Later that month, Raudry said she believes Olivas began watching her from outside her house.Olivas was ordered by the court not to communicate with Raudry in a threatening or harassing manner, commit family violence against her, nor go within 200 yards of her home or workplace.Gasoline odorsTarrant County court records show that Olivas was charged in February with violating the protective order. He had been free on $5,000 bail when he was arrested Monday in connection with the double homicide. A phone call to his defense attorney in that case was not returned Tuesday.Olivas' cellphone activity indicated he was in Arlington at the time of the slayings. Police also detected a strong odor of gasoline coming from Olivas' car when they interviewed him at his apartment, according to the warrant. Olivas told investigators that he could not explain the smell. He also said scratch marks on his stomach, hands and chest were caused by a skin condition that caused him to scratch himself excessively.Susan Schrock, 817-709-7578Deanna Boyd, 817-390-7655Twitter: @susanschrockTwitter: @deannaboydHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
