GARLAND, Texas — A police affidavit has revealed information about the connection between two people arrested and a person found dead inside a condo earlier this month.
Garland police said Haley Barber, 20, and Leo Moore, 20, both of Mesquite, were arrested and charged with murder.
Officers responded to a welfare check at about 1 a.m. Monday in the 4500 block of Chaha Road. Police said they found a body wrapped in a material like sheets. Police identified the victim on Tuesday as 53-year-old Johnny Mac Ross Jr.
According to GPD, the preliminary investigation showed Ross was stabbed to death.
A witness had told police he bought a Corvette from Barber that used to belong to her grandfather, according to the affidavit. Upon going to the apartment where the body was found to get a spare key, the witness told police he could smell a foul odor and asked her where her grandfather was.
"Haley told [witness] that her grandfather was dead and then asked him if he wanted to see him," the affidavit states. "Haley took him into a back bedroom and showed him what appeared to be a body wrapped u[ in some type of material."
The witness told police Barber had told him they killed her grandfather by slipping something in his drink and stabbing him later, the affidavit detailed.
According to the affidavit, the witness then got scared and left, and after telling his mother about it, they called the police and told them about what he saw.
Police state in the affidavit that, upon searching the apartment, they found two sofas stained with what appeared to be blood. They also reportedly found a large Bowie knife in the dishwasher. The victim was reportedly wrapped up in a large rug bound with electrical cords. Police wrote in the affidavit that they could smell cleaning products throughout the residence and found a bucket and mop on the back porch.
Upon searching the closet, the affidavit states that forensic investigators found a trash bag full of towels that appears to be stained with blood, as well as a second bag with shoes that also looked to be blood-stained.
According to the affidavit, Barber spoke with police after her arrest and told them Moore had stabbed the victim during a robbery and left afterward. They then reportedly went back to the apartment eight to 10 hours later, but found the victim hadn't died yet, so Moore stabbed him again. They then reportedly wrapped up the body and placed the materials in the closet.
Moore also spoke with police, the affidavit stated, and admitted Barber had asked him for help in robbing his grandfather. He reportedly said he walked up behind the victim and stabbed him in the neck, causing the victim to stand up with the knife still in his neck.
Moore reportedly told police he was worried the victim was pull the knife out of his neck and try to stab him, the affidavit details, so he ran back behind the kitchen counter and then pushed the victim down. He reportedly initially wanted to call the police to get help when they came back hours later, but then decided to stab him several more times and then wrap him up in the rug.
Ross' vehicle, a 2001 Mercedes, had also been stolen, according to police. Later on Monday afternoon, officers found the stolen vehicle traveling on Miller Road near LBJ Freeway. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, and the suspects led police on a brief chase, police said, which later ended and they fled on foot.
Both Barber and Moore were apprehended, according to Garland police.
Garland police said detectives have since gathered additional evidence identifying Barber and Moore as the individuals responsible for Ross' death. Evidence indicates that both suspects knew the victim, but the details of the dispute are still under investigation, according to police.
Barber and Moore were in custody Tuesday at the Garland Detention Center on charges of Capital Murder, with no bond set.
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