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
i i threw my phone on the ground like that s not real. reporter: when reality settled in, april and all of ashlea s family and friends. even the police had to wonder who would do such a thing to such a good, sweet, person? ashlea harris had no enemies, did she? was someone stalking ashlea harris? coming up saw a vehicle parked there that i d never seen before. but someone had seen it before. i said, i know whose car y all are asking about. when dateline continues. okay, snacks and popcorn are gonna be expensive. let s just accept that. going to the movies can be a lot for young homeowners turning into their parents. bathrooms even if you don t have to go, you should try. we all know where the bathroom is and how to us it, okay?
controlled substance list. the bill faces an uphill battle in the senate. now back to dateline. after celebrating thanksgiving with friends, ashlea harris headed back to mall. to prepare for black friday. but nothing could prepare forefor the horrors when she returned home, brutally murdered and apartment set on fire. neighbor told police he noticed a car around the time of the killing, a black infinity. the same model an ex-employee drove. coincidence? keith morrison was about to find out. here s black friday. 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 asked him, what are you doing here at the mall? he said that he had dropped his girlfriend off to pick up some papers at aeropostale where she was a manager. reporter: so perhaps it was just that. david giving carter a ride to pick up some paperwork at her new job at aeropostale. cedillo decided to go inside. the mall was open but the stores were still closed. and i happened to go up to aeropostale and there is a manager that s actually in there working. and i was able to confirm that
reporter: fresh grave? fresh grave. reporter: prosecutors believe the original plan was to kidnap ashlea, kill her, and put her body in that grave. she was killed in her apartment, the prosecutors thought, because she fought so hard. what is that? this is a glock 19 semiautomatic pistol. reporter: in fact, investigators believe ashlea harris was pistol whipped. so when this glock 19 was found in the black infiniti, prosecutor deener had it tested. the results were both sad and conclusive. it came back positive with ashlea s dna on the gun, so that was very significant. there was blood adjacent to her bed. and blood splattered on the bed. this was not an easy death. reporter: hearing all this was so hard on ashlea s mother monica and loved ones like april. i thought i could handle it. huh-uh, nope. so i went out and i went back