Detectives in The Colony have arrested a 19-year-old man they say confessed to killing his 23-year-old pregnant sister.
Eduardo Arevalo is currently in The Colony jail and has been charged with Capital Murder.
Investigators say Viridiana Arevalo was reported missing from the family's home on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Officers said that she was last seen by a family member and had made some statements about harming herself, leading investigators to believe that she was in danger.
"My sister loved the beach. She loved taking pictures," said Diego Arevalo, their brother.
Officers were called to the 5200 block of Strickland Avenue on Sunday, Dec. 22, where they found Viridiana dead in an alley.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Video evidence gathered at the scene, as well as at the home, led investigators to focus on Eduardo as their main suspect. Police say he confessed killing Viridiana on Monday, Dec. 16 because of an "ongoing conflict in the family caused by the victim's mental health conditions."
According to an arrest affidavit, Eduardo stated he and Viridiana got into an argument when he returned home Monday morning. He went to his room where he thought, "Maybe it's the time to murder her," the affidavit detailed. The affidavit says Eduardo approached his sister who was sitting on the couch, then strangled her by placing his right arm around her neck.
The affidavit says Eduardo wrapped duct tape around her head then put her in his trunk. He took her body to a grassy field in Fannin County then returned Sunday. He retrieved her body then dumped her in the alley about a mile away from their family's home.
Despite allegedly admitting to killing his sister, Diego Arevalo says he believes his brother is innocent.
"It doesn’t make sense that my brother would do something like this. He was either set up or something happened," said Diego Arevalo.
Investigators say Eduardo created a note to make it look like his sister committed suicide.
Viridiana was eight months pregnant with a girl at the time of her death.
Eduardo is charged with capital murder and tampering with evidence.
