18 Months ago 26-year-old Mechelle Gandy and her 1-year-old son Asher were found dead in an apartment fire, she had been stabbed. Now her ex-boyfriend, who is also Asher’s father is charged with capital murder.
A North Texas man has been arrested in the 2011 deaths of his ex-girlfriend and their year-old son whose bodies were found during a fire.
Officials say 26-year-old Mechelle Gandy had been stabbed and she died at the scene of the fire at her Arlington apartment. Her son, Asher Olivas, died as a result of the March 20, 2011, blaze.
"It appears we had a criminal homicide occur, based on the multiple stab wounds and then we had a fire set in another bedroom where the child slept to potentially conceal the initial crime," said Sgt. Christopher Cook with the Arlington Police Department. "Obviously a fire will distort and conceal some types of evidence. There's a lot of pieces and a lot of moving elements going on at this very complicated scene."
Arlington police say the couple allegedly had argued over child support issues.
Arlington City Jail records show 29-year-old Thomas Olivas of Bedford was being held Tuesday on a capital murder charge. Bond has been set at $1 million for Olivas, who was arrested Monday night at a bar in Hurst.
"A crime like this, that involves not only a homicide, but now you're dealing with a small infant child, that tears at all of our hearts in the community and so we are very glad that the suspect is off the street," said Cook.
Jail records did not list an attorney for the defendant.
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NBC 5's Mola Lenghi contributed to this article.
