FRISCO, Texas — Frisco Police has charged Zander Tashman, 18, for aiding in the suicide of Ellyse Suarez.
Suarez was found dead in a pond at Frisco Commons Park on November 20, 2023.
Tashman was her on-and-off boyfriend whom she communicated with over text messages and, according to court documents, drove Suarez from her home to the park where she was found dead.
"She does not have tomorrow with her best friend. She does not have tomorrow with us," Ellyse' mother Azucena told WFAA last week.
Court documents WFAA obtained delve deeper into why Tashman was charged.
According to the documents, detectives say Tashman repeatedly lied about when he last talked with Ellyse. At one point during an interview Tashman said "maybe like days ago" but later admitted to talking with her "that night."
Those court documents reveal Tashman picked up Allyse the morning, family says, she disappeared. The documents read he "parked down the street. Ellyse left the house and got in the vehicle." Tashman missed 3 calls and text messages from Elm Ridge Police detectives that early morning.
Frisco Police also extracted information from Tashman's phone the morning she disappeared. The following searches and selections for locations were made from the phone: "Forests near me", "Frisco Forest Parks", and "Frisco Commons Park." These searches were made in the early morning hours of November 20 between 1:12 a.m. and 1:47 a.m. In that time Tashman's cellphone location data shows it in the area of Frisco Commons Park.
Frisco Commons Park is where Ellyse was found dead in the pond, and according to documents and surveillance, where Tashman was parked in the parking lot at the time.
"The truth is I was actually with her that night and she told me everything she wanted to do," read a statement from Tashman in court documents.
The court documents also show text messages between Suarez and Tashman one month before she died.
Suarez texts him, "I'm sorry I keep asking you to do all these f---- up things." According to court documents, she's referring to very specific "instructions" for Tashman for her things after she died.
When detectives asked Tashman why he didn't call police or suicide prevention he said he wanted to "respect her wishes and couldn't betray her."
"I did not understand depression. I did not understand why she was sad. I didn’t understand why she did not feel good. We tried to give her a good life," Azucena told WFAA last Tuesday.
WFAA did reach out to attorney Reynie Tinajero who is representing the Tashman family. As of Monday afternoon, they did not have much more to add. Their statement is as follows: "Zander and his family wish this horrible tragedy had never taken place either. I'm sorry authorities made a poor and probably emotional choice to blame Zander and to do so in a public way. We'll be making our case in a court of law. Zander is an exemplary college student with no prior history of criminal behavior. Zander is innocent."
Zander Tashman's charge is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in prison along with a $10,000 fine.
One of the last texts from Saurez to Tashman is a reminder that this is a tragedy all around: It read, "Please tell my family I love them."
If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is always open. Dial 1-800-273-8255 any time of day.