caring, wondering, compassionate. so why did she have the strange permission? actually always felt like she was gonna die young. the call came on black friday. they said that ashlea apartment was on fire. when the car picked up, i my heart broke. and this fire was no accident. they conducted surveillance at ashlea apartment. they re going back to the place where ashlea worked? they were going after tens of thousands of dollars. but was money they only motive? or was there something else? there were a lot of rumors going around that ended up being true. couldn t believe anyone did that to her. it was just pure evil. hello and welcome to dateline. ashlea harris had no shortage of admirers. family, friends, coworkers. even her ex son her praises. so when she was found dead after a suspicious fire consumed her apartment, police were baffled. this was no accident. but where the clues to who killed ashlea now up in smoke? it would take a determined
reporter: cedillo asked about thanksgiving. small talk. what d you make? i made turkey, and there was stuffing and mashed potatoes. and green bean casserole and this cabbage bacon salad that my mom really likes to make, but i don t think david liked it very much. reporter: except this wasn t really small talk. detective cedillo was paying close attention. alright. so let s start with this morning. okay. all right. this morning. okay, what time did you get up? about 7:30. 7:45. okay and then what happened then? and then we talked and i went back to sleep. when i woke up he wasn t there. okay. reporter: he d heard enough. i know that s a lie. no, it s no, it s not. do you know why i know it s a lie? why do you know it s a lie? because i saw you come out of your apartment and get in the passenger seat of that car and i saw him drive out of there. that s why i know it s a lie. reporter: cedillo was tough. but carter cervantez wasn t giving an inch.
after thanksgiving, black friday. laura love had only one thing on her mind. black friday was my favorite day of the year. i m i loved to shop and save money. reporter: but laura s black friday was about to turn very dark, indeed. i got a call from a friend of ours, and she said, ashlea s apartment s on fire. reporter: ashlea s friends arrived at her apartment parking lot to something like chaos. there was multiple police cars. crime scene was there. reporter: ft. worth detective jerry cedillo and his partner ernie pate sped over there, too. there was a crowd that was startin to gather. and next thing you know, we have about 40 to 50 friends and family and co-workers. and then we had residents that were just, you know, lookin from balconies, so we had quite a crowd out here. reporter: by now, firefighters had squelched the flames, and the detectives walked up the steps to ashlea s door. when you went into that apartment, what was that like? it was um it was
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turn in bed, he decided to follow his gut. now the detective was following a black infintig-35 and it would take him somewhere very interesting. here again is keith morrison. reporter: on the saturday morning after black friday, 2014, homicide detective jerry cedillo followed a black infiniti into the parking lot of the hulen mall. he watched as the passenger, a woman dressed in darkish clothes, headed inside. she fit the description he d been given of 25-year-old carter cervantez, a former co-worker of ashlea harris. the male driver stayed in the car. cedillo called his partner, ernie pate asked him to check up on the guy. when i approached the car, then the person identified themself as david mallory. reporter: david mallory was carter s live-in boyfriend. he too was a former employee of american eagle. i ask him, what are you doing here at the mall? he said that he had dropped his