Capital murder charges have been filed in the death of Sarmistha Sen, a mother of two who was killed while out for a jog in Chisholm Trail Park earlier this month.
Plano police said Monday they have charged 29-year-old Bakari Abiona Moncrief with capital murder in the woman's death.
Moncrief was named a person of interest in the case on Aug. 1 after being accused of burglarizing a home near the trail. Sen's body was discovered along the creek at the park near Legacy Drive and Marchman Way at about 7:12 a.m. the same morning.
Ring video reportedly showed Moncrief smashing the front door of Michael Jones' home near the park. Police said Moncrief matched the burglar’s description when he was found hours later using an electrical outlet to charge his cell phone outside a nearby store.
When he was detained, police said he repeated a similar phrase heard in the Ring video: “I ain’t a coward.”
Sen was a wife, mother of two young sons and was a clinical research manager at UT Southwestern whose focus involved cancer research. She was born in Sindri, India, in January 1977. She moved to Plano to continue her studies at UT Dallas and University of Birmingham, Alabama and worked on cancer research for most of her career.
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Her family described her as an avid runner who often woke up early to run along the trail near their home. Friends told NBC 5 she was an amazing singer and was very involved in the community.
Sen's husband, Arindam Roy, started a GoFundMe page in her memory where people can contribute to charities his wife cared about such as those providing cancer awareness and research. The family is pledging to match each donation up to $50,000. As of this writing, more than $42,000 has been donated.
Sen is survived by her husband of 16 years and her two sons, 12-year-old Neil and 6-year-old Ryan.
Moncrief is currently being held in the Collin County Detention Center on $11 million bond; $10 million on the capital murder charge and $1 million on the burglary charge. It's not clear if Moncrief has obtained an attorney.
