El Tejano first told you about the arrest of Mayra Velasquez in the 2012 killing of Irasema Chavez. Now new details are coming out about the case.
Velasquez, 42, is a real estate agent from the Dallas area. Police in Arlington arrested her on July 17. She faces a capital murder charge. That is the most serious murder charge in Texas. Chavez, 32, was stabbed more than 100 times inside her Arlington apartment in January 2012. Velasquez sits in the Tarrant County Jail. She has no bond, so she cannot pay to get out while she waits for trial.
Velasquez's own lawyer is now pushing back on the DNA evidence that led to her arrest. His name is Dustin Hoffman. He told a Dallas area public radio station that the arrest papers raise questions. Those papers say a drop of blood found in Chavez's apartment was still "glistening" and "partially wet" almost 10 hours after the attack. Hoffman did not say Velasquez is innocent. He is challenging how police describe that blood.
New reporting fills in more gaps from the case file. Police say whoever killed Chavez also stole her TV. Cops never found the knife or weapon used in the stabbing. That means part of the crime scene is still a mystery, even after an arrest.
Reports also point to old surveillance video from 2012. A camera near Chavez's apartment caught a person walking up to her door. That person wore a baseball cap and a hoodie. The video only showed the person from behind and the side. It never showed a clear face.
El Tejano first reported this case on July 22. Police say the FBI's genetic genealogy program helped crack it open. That program compares crime scene DNA to family tree websites. It helped agents find Velasquez more than 14 years after Chavez died. Read our first report here: https://www.eltejanorgv.com/dna-leads-cops-to-arrest-real-estate-agent-in-2012-killing/
Velasquez has not gone to court yet on the new charge. It is not clear when her first hearing will happen. She has not entered a plea. Her lawyer's questions about the DNA timeline could become a bigger part of the case as it moves forward. El Tejano will keep following this story.
