Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy arrested in murder of his girlfriend in Denton
A deputy with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office was arrested Monday and accused in the murder of his girlfriend last month in Denton, Denton police said.
Initially, Jay Allen Rotter reported on Aug. 26 that his girlfriend shot herself in the 2400 block of Robinwood Lane in Denton, police said in a news release.
Leslie Lynn Hartman, 46, was found dead at the scene, and detectives later determined that Rotter and his girlfriend were the only two people in the residence when she was killed.
Hartman’s autopsy is still listed as pending on the website of the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
But Denton police said Monday that as their investigation continued into September, they served search warrants and analyzed physical evidence.
Authorities presented a probable cause affidavit to a judge, who determined probable cause existed and signed a warrant for Rotter’s arrest. Denton police did not release any other details.
Rotter faces charges of murder and tampering with physical evidence, Denton police said Monday.
Rotter, 36, was in the Denton City Jail on Monday in lieu of $1,150,000 bond.
The deputy has worked for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office since 2005, and is assigned to the narcotics division, according to an official with the sheriff’s office. He is on administrative leave following his arrest.
“We are shocked and saddened about the incident and arrest of Jay Rotter,” Tarrant County Sheriff Bill E. Waybourn said in a statement released Monday afternoon. “We have very little information regarding the situation at this time. We believe in the criminal justice process and the truth will prevail.”
Christie Wood, a friend since 2001, said the Denton art community where Hartman was well known and beloved also has little information concerning her passing.
Hartman told Wood she was involved in an automobile accident when she was younger and had since used a wheelchair for transportation.
But her mobility challenges did not lessen Hartman’s creative drive, according to Wood, owner of Denton’s Art Glass Ensembles. Hartman operated her own stained glass studio out of her home, said Wood, who is also a stained glass artist.
“She didn’t let anything stop her from doing anything she wanted,” Wood said. “We were shocked to hear that she passed away and when we didn’t hear anything about how she passed away, we were confused.”
Most of what she knows has come from Monday’s news reports, Wood said. About a month before her death, Hartman said she had a new boyfriend, and she had been talking about getting a new puppy, but she did not say what her new love interest did for a living, Wood said.
“Suicide did not seem in any way remotely possible,” Wood said. “She had been bragging about getting a new puppy. People who commit suicide don’t usually do stuff like that.”
Hartman also created jewelry, Wood said.
“She was a wonderful force of nature and I’m sad she is gone,” Wood said. “We will miss her greatly.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 12:43 PM.
