An 18-year-old man is facing felony charges after police say he helped his girlfriend commit suicide last fall.
According to the Frisco Police Department, Zander Tashman is charged with aiding suicide in the death of his 17-year-old girlfriend, whose family identified her as Ellyse Suarez.
It happened on Nov. 20, 2023, in the 8000 block of McKinney Road. Police said they responded to Frisco Commons Park after receiving reports of suspicious activity.
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When officers arrived, they found a teenage girl unresponsive in a pond. Frisco Police said after a months-long investigation, detectives gathered enough evidence that led to Tashman's role in aiding her suicide.
Authorities secured a warrant for Tashman's arrest and took him into custody on Sunday, Feb. 18. His bond was set at $10,000. The charge is a state jail felony punishable by not more than two years or less than 180 days in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, officials said.
Saurez's mother, Azucena Massey, spoke with NBC 5 following the latest development. She said her daughter was charismatic, witty, and involved in activities at school. She said Ellyse also suffered from depression; something Massey couldn’t quite comprehend.
"I don’t think I understood it at all," Massey said. "I didn’t understand her reasoning for sadness. I didn’t understand her reasoning for being depressed."
Now, months later, as if the loss of her daughter wasn’t enough, police are looking Tashman for allegedly helping Ellyse kill herself. Massey told NBC 5 Ellyse and Zander dated on and off throughout school. She said doesn’t know the details of the case, or exactly how her daughter carried out her own death. However, knowing Tashman is facing charges is bothersome.
“It’s scary in a way because it makes me question, do I even want to know? Is it going to make me more angry? Because I don’t want to feel angry when I think about my daughter," Massey said.
Massey said Ellyse had been in touch with Tashman in the days prior to her death. She described the teens' relationship from the outside looking in.
“[The relationship] was something that was very meaningful to her. Something that she wanted to work out so dearly that maybe she made decisions that she wouldn’t have made on a regular day,” said Massey.
She had message for other parents who might be concerned about their children.
“Don’t think that you’re going to talk it over and have a conversation and think that everything is going to be ok tomorrow,” she said. “You might not get that tomorrow.”
Police have not released details on what led to Tashman’s arrest. NBC 5 made contact with Tashman and his family. His attorney, Reynie Tinajero, released this statement:
"Zander and his family wish this horrible tragedy had never taken place either. I'm sorry authorities made a poor and probably emotional choice to blame Zander and to do so in a public way. We'll be making our case in a court of law. Zander is an exemplary college student with no prior history of criminal behavior. Zander is innocent."
Frisco Police advised those who know someone struggling with their mental health and contemplating suicide to be their voice and seek help for them.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org -- callers will be connected with trained counselors available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
