Disturbing new details about the gruesome murder of a Garland man last week and now, for the first time, we’re hearing from those who knew the victim, 53-year-old Johnny Mac Ross, who was found wrapped in a closet in his condo. Meredith Yeomans has the latest.
Disturbing new details are emerging about the gruesome murder of a Garland man last week.
According to longtime friend Ronnie Majors, Johnny Mack Ross, 53, was a father, friend, and heavy metal musician.
“Almost every single friend in his life, including me, they've all known him, some have known him as long as elementary school. That says a lot about a person in itself,” said Majors.
She described Ross as loyal, dependable and funny, and as more is learned about who was lost, an arrest affidavit described the circumstances surrounding Ross’s death.
Inside his condo on Chaha Road in Garland, police said Ross's body was found tightly bound in a spare bedroom closet days after his death.
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According to an arrest affidavit, 20-year-olds Haley Barber and Leo Moore, both Mesquite residents, "Had a plan to rob the decedent [Ross] for his cars and money,” and that Ross "was asleep on the couch when Moore approached him with a knife and stabbed him in the neck."
The affidavit said Barber and Moore left the condo then returned "8 to 10 hours later but discovered the decedent [Ross] was not dead yet, so Moore stabbed the decedent again to finish him off."
“Moore said Barber told him to finish the decedent off because she did not want to see him still suffering,” the affidavit states.
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According to the affidavit, Ross's wrapped body was discovered after Barber showed the body to a friend who'd purchased a Corvette from her days before. The friend told police Barber told him the Corvette was her grandfather's who passed away and that the body he was shown was Barber's grandfather. The friend said he needed the spare key to the Corvette and was told by Barber to come to the condo to pick it up.
The friend told his mother what he’d seen and they reported it to police, the affidavit said.
Police went to the condo at about 1 a.m. A downstairs neighbor reported hearing people running around when police knocked on the door. When no one answered, the police walked away.
A short time later, the neighbor told police he saw two people who appeared to be Barber and Moore run downstairs from the condo and drive off in Ross's Mercedes.
Barber and Moore were later arrested after a police chase in the Mercedes.
“It is the hardest thing that I have gone through in my entire life,” said Majors.
Majors said Ross and the suspect, Barber, were dating and that Barber lived at the condo.
“Johnny was a very generous person. If he loved you and he cared about you, he's going to take care of you and help you out and I definitely think she took advantage of that,” said Majors.
Both Barber and Moore face multiple charges, including capital murder. They are each held in the Dallas County Jail on bonds totaling more than $1 million. It's unclear if they have obtained attorneys to speak on their behalf.
