2nd murder suspect arrested in ‘execution-style’ slayings of mother and son at Texas home
A second suspect has been arrested and charged in the double murder of a mother and son whose bodies were found in Lewisville on Aug. 14, according to a news release from police.
Jawara Oji Black, 51, was arrested Monday in Houston and faces two counts of capital murder, according to police. Bail has not been set.
Another man, 37-year-old Samuel Atinafu Melkamu, was arrested Friday and also faces two counts of capital murder. He’s being held in the Denton County Jail with bail set at $500,000.
Both victims, Lilia Fernandez Ortiz, 66, and Alejandro Arrellano-Fernandez, 43, died of gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
A family member who had been trying to reach the victims for several days found their bodies at their home in the 800 block of Ramblewood Drive, police said.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, a neighbor told police that they had video of part of the shooting, which occurred on Aug. 10.
The first suspect, later identified as Melkamu, was seen in the video with a gun in his hand, according to the affidavit. Police saw in the video that Arrellano-Fernandez was shoved to the ground by the two suspects, the affidavit states.
Arrellano-Fernandez was then seen in the video being dragged across the driveway of the home on Ramblewood Drive by the second suspect — later identified as Black — after having been shot “execution style,” police said in the affidavit.
The neighbor also told police that Melkamu previously lived at the victims’ home and had done odd jobs for residents including the new occupants of the house, according to the affidavit. Melkamu said he was owed money for work he’d done for the victims, according to the neighbor. Recently, Melkamu had been experiencing homelessness and sleeping in his car, police wrote in the affidavit.
Arrellano-Fernandez’s sister found his body in the garage when she went to the house four days after the shooting, the affidavit says. Police said their mother, who was killed and found dead in the kitchen, was also shot “execution style.”
The suspects also stole a gold necklace from Arrellano-Fernandez and are facing capital murder charges because the killings were committed along with robbery, police said.
This story was originally published August 21, 2023 at 10:42 PM.