Dallas police search for suspect in killing of Fort Worth woman

A Fort Worth woman who was found dead in a burning car on Saturday in Dallas had texted friends who were worried about her safety on the night she died, according to authorities.

Dallas police found the body of Alexus Garcia, 20, in the back of a green Fiat at 7:52 a.m. Saturday while responding to a 911 call about a one-vehicle wreck in the 2200 block of Royal Lane.

A damaged cell phone was found in the car, as well as the ID of Manuel Rocha Jr., 26, of Richardson. The address on the ID was the same address Garcia had gone to the night before, police said.

Witnesses told police they saw a “Latin man” leaving the scene, which led to an unsuccessful search for Rocha.

According to an arrest affidavit, Garcia went to Rocha’s address in the 300 block of Brookwood Drive in Richardson at 2:15 a.m. Saturday. An exterior surveillance video showed her arrive in a green Fiat. She sent a map of her location via text to someone labeled as a “witness,” according to the affidavit.

“They talked about her safety, and she went inside the house,” the affidavit states.

Garcia texted the “witness” a few more times, but the texts stopped after 4:47 a.m., according to the affidavit.

At 7:52 a.m., Dallas police and firefighters responded to a call of a car on fire. A witness saw the car arrive and a “Latin male” walk away from the burning car a few minutes later, according to the affidavit.

A security camera recorded the car’s arrival and the man leaving, the report states.

Firefighters found Garcia in the back of the car and confirmed that gas was used to set the car on fire, police said.

Garcia had “visible trauma,” and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Dallas County medical examiner’s office.

Police officers went to Rocha’s house. Relatives said he was there when they went to sleep at midnight, but he wasn’t there when they woke up. He also did not show up for work on Saturday, they said.

They told officers that Rocha “meets with prostitutes.”

Garcia's family could not be reached to comment Monday night. Her mother told The Dallas Morning News that her daughter was not a prostitute.

Security video from a store near Rocha’s house shows him in and out of the house on Saturday, and at one point he put something in the back of Garcia’s car and drove off. Garcia was never seen leaving the house, according to the affidavit.

A capital murder warrant was issued for Rocha’s arrest Sunday.

Police continued to search for Rocha Monday. He is Hispanic, 5-feet-9, 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Garcia’s funeral is in Fort Worth on Thursday.

This story was originally published June 22, 2015 at 9:33 PM with the headline "Dallas police search for suspect in killing of Fort Worth woman."