Shocking Cases Where Employees Killed Their Bosses

Crime Origin

Employees Who Took Brutal Revenge On Their Boss.... #crime #prison #documentary   The YouTube video covers shocking cases where employees, driven by rage or resentment, killed their bosses. It explores the motives behind these violent acts, from workplace disputes to long-standing grudges. The video also examines the aftermath, including the legal consequences and the impact on the victims' families and colleagues.  It's not very ethical, but having a bad boss is the worst. You spend long hours grueling away at your job, trying to meet deadlines and complete commissions, skipping meals to make everything work, only to not get paid your worth or to be belittled and demeaned for your hard work. It's tiring, and resentment in the workplace could brew from that.

Transcript

00:00It is a killing police called violent, senseless, and brutal.

00:04A man walks into a gym and attacks his former boss with a hatchet in broad daylight.

00:09New York City was shocked when a man started shooting at innocent bystanders right outside the Empire State Building.

00:16Every detail she gave detectives matched the crime scene down to the message they found written on a wall in

00:22blood.

00:22They only deciphered two letters, F and R.

00:25She completed the puzzle, confessing she had written the word freedom.

00:30In these four instances, we'll see just how quickly workplace resentment can end in fatality.

00:36When 36-year-old Dominic Micheli left his home on the morning of 4th of June 2018,

00:42anyone seeing him probably thought he was doing the same as everyone else on a Monday and going to work.

00:48When he pulled up in a parking garage beneath the Balance Training Center at a shopping center in the Belmede

00:54community,

00:55they probably didn't think twice of it.

00:57And when Dominic was caught on surveillance pacing in the parking garage,

01:02it would have been easy to think he was just psyching himself up for the hours of work ahead.

01:07The problem is, Dominic didn't work at the training facility.

01:11He had been fired over a year ago.

01:13And no, he didn't come back to meet up with an old co-worker or pick up an item he

01:17left behind.

01:18His goal was something far more sinister.

01:20He'd gone to the fitness center with the intention to end the life of 46-year-old Joel Pavela.

01:26Joel was, by all accounts, a good man.

01:30Born on September 16, 1971, in Austin, Texas, to parents James and Marilyn Pavela of Memphis,

01:38he was raised in Memphis, Tennessee with his three sisters.

01:41He attended and graduated from Central High School, Memphis,

01:44after which he moved on to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville,

01:48where he received his bachelor's in kinesiology.

01:51He was described as a lifelong learner who continued studying kinesiology even after he'd graduated,

01:58earning certifications in personal training, nutrition, sports injury, therapeutic massage,

02:03and an innovative injury prevention conditioning technique.

02:08It had been Joel's lifelong dream to own a business where he could help and train others so,

02:14with his knowledge and passion in the field,

02:16he would open and manage the Balance's Training Fitness Center in Nashville.

02:20At the Balance, Joel's passion for his work really shone through.

02:24He motivated his clients and treated all of them with equal attention and respect.

02:29Joel lived a full life.

02:31He earned a black belt in karate and took ballet with his sisters at an early age.

02:35He loved to draw, play the guitar, run, and go hunting.

02:39He rode a bicycle and trained for triathlons,

02:41went to heavy metal concerts, took up woodworking, and was generally bright and energetic.

02:46His personality was captivating, and he always greeted every new person with a welcoming smile.

02:52But perhaps the most beautiful thing about Joel was his devotion and love to his family and friends.

02:58He was married 18 years to Lana Lindemud Pavala, and the couple had five children,

03:04Taylor Hall, Elliston, Cohen, Finland, and Everly.

03:08He was described as a phenomenal man, father, husband, and role model.

03:14Joel passionately encouraged others to work on their fitness, people like Katherine Brown.

03:19You always came away feeling good about yourself after you spent time with Joel,

03:23whether it was working out or having dinner or, you know, hearing stories about his children.

03:28In an interview with The Tennessean, Nashville restaurateur Randy Rayburn,

03:33who had worked out with Joel for a few years at another gym, said,

03:37I went through boot camp twice with Joel.

03:39Joel was one of the most enthusiastic and well-rounded people I've ever known in my life.

03:44He was just a wonderful father and human being.

03:47With this man being so bright, happy-go-lucky, and welcoming,

03:50why then did he suffer a cruel fate at the hands of Dominic Micheli?

03:55The answer to that lies in Dominic's own mental state.

03:58His Facebook page is riddled with posts written in brief,

04:02poem-format sentences where he would call himself the son of God and speak of truth,

04:07while Joel lived a happy, full life,

04:09changing hair color so his kids knew he was the cool parent,

04:13lighting up the room with his quick, witty humor and writing daily love notes to his wife.

04:17This was a stark contrast to Dominic, who is reported to have been paranoid and dangerous.

04:23The man bragged about keeping a hatchet and two knives in his car,

04:27and it was only a matter of time before he used it.

04:30On June 4, 2018 in Nashville, TN, at around 7 a.m.,

04:34Dominic Micheli was spotted on surveillance video pacing back and forth

04:38in a parking garage beneath the Balance Training Center.

04:41After which, he walked into the building carrying a hatchet and another bladed instrument

04:46and fatally attacked his former boss who had fired him 14 months prior.

04:51Joel was assisting clients with a workout when Dominic attacked him.

04:55He died on the way to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

04:58His only mistake was ever hiring Dominic in the first place.

05:02Dominic fled the scene in an older model, small silver Toyota Prius, or Yaris,

05:07and, less than 90 minutes later, he was spotted limping into an urgent care facility in Gallatin,

05:13located about 30 miles northwest of downtown Nashville.

05:17There, he attempted to buy a suture kit, but when he found that they didn't sell any there,

05:22he left for a drugstore where he bought medical items.

05:25He was arrested on April 27, 2018, when he drove his car to a checkpoint near the White House,

05:31refusing orders to move.

05:33Afterwards, whether or not Dominic was mentally fit to stand trial was speculated,

05:38but after a court-ordered mental evaluation, it was found that he was.

05:4436-year-old Dominic Niccoli was charged with criminal homicide

05:48in the June 4th killing of 46-year-old Joel Pavola at a gym in Nashville.

05:53Tennessee Bureau of Investigations officials say there could have been a lot more casualties

05:57had he been able to buy that gun.

06:00Four years later, in 2022, 41-year-old Dominic Niccoli pleaded guilty to the murder of Joel Pavola.

06:06The man had planned to raise an insanity defense at the start of the trial.

06:10However, his guilty plea showed he understood that his actions were wrong.

06:14Also, for several months prior to the attack, he was experiencing mental health issues.

06:19In that time, he could have sought help.

06:22Instead, he turned with murderous intentions to a man who had had nothing to do with him for months.

06:27On Friday, November 18th, 2022, Dominic Niccoli was sentenced to serve 25 years in prison.

06:34Joel's family was present at the sentencing.

06:37Many had the words,

06:38Be cool, tattooed on their wrists.

06:41It was Joel's motto.

06:42The murder of Joel Pavola was a senseless attack on an innocent man.

06:47Unfortunately, it isn't the only time a disgruntled, violent employee returned to end

06:51the life of their former employer.

06:53The next harrowing case involves a man who stormed into his former workplace near the Empire State

06:59Building with a gun and mercilessly shot his ex-boss.

07:08On Friday, 25th of August, 2012, a man headed straight for Hazan Imports on 10th and West

07:1433rd Street in a white van.

07:17It was a building he was familiar with, one he had worked at for six good years.

07:22However, that morning was different.

07:24That morning, he was carrying a .45 caliber handgun, and he was moving with one goal in

07:30mind, to kill his former manager, 41-year-old Steven Ercolino.

07:34But who was this man?

07:37And what drove him to commit such a heinous crime?

07:40Keep watching to find out.

07:43Not much is known about the shooter.

07:45What we do know is that the man, 58-year-old Jeffrey Johnson, was a peculiar man.

07:50He attended the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, from 1978 to 1980.

07:57However, Jeffrey never completed his studies.

08:00He dropped out in his final year of the three years required for a certificate.

08:04He also often alluded to being in the military, telling former landlord Kathleen Walsh that

08:10he was a sharpshooter.

08:12Jeffrey had worked at Hazan Imports as a women's apparel designer for six years.

08:16However, during a downsizing of the firm, he was laid off.

08:20Now out of employment, he started his own t-shirt design company called St. Jolly T-Shirt

08:26Co., mostly selling prints of women and motorcycles on his website.

08:30His work also included images of classic cars like 57 Chevys and Mustangs, airplanes, and

08:36beach scenes.

08:37One illustration is of a naked woman, a pirate ship, and a fighter jet.

08:42Guillermo Suarez, the superintendent of the six-story walk-up on East 82nd Street, where

08:47Jeffrey lived for about 18 months, described him as very mellow and very lonely.

08:53He revealed that Jeffrey had a particular routine he followed every day like clockwork.

08:58He would leave the apartment between 7.30 and 8 a.m., greet good morning to the superintendent,

09:04then head to a McDonald's on 3rd Avenue and 84th Street.

09:07After about 20 minutes, Jeffrey would come back carrying a McDonald's bag and stay in

09:12his apartment the rest of the day.

09:14Strangely enough, he also wore the exact same thing every day, a tannish brown suit, sometimes

09:20with a tie.

09:21In a brief interview with CBS, a neighbor of his, Gisela Casella, said he was the nicest

09:27guy, she said, he would always wear nice suits, beige, tie, so I said to myself, boy, he must

09:33have some job, maybe works in a bank.

09:36He's a big shot.

09:37I knew he was a little weird because he was a neat freak, put his name very neatly by the

09:42door.

09:43According to her, she'd never seen Jeffrey on a date saying, he never had a girlfriend.

09:48I used to think he deserved a nice girlfriend.

09:51Johnson had no criminal record and mostly kept to himself.

09:55However, being laid off released something bitter in him because he became fixated on

10:01getting back at his ex-manager.

10:03Stephen Ercolino worked as a vice president of sales at Hazen Import.

10:08He was incredibly close to his two brothers and sisters, and his sister-in-law referred to

10:12him as an incredible family man.

10:14In her words, he was the best uncle to her children.

10:18His siblings told the press that his girlfriend was the love of his life.

10:23Others who knew him described Steve as a great guy and a sweet man.

10:27He would talk about daily fashions, what he was wearing or what he was doing over the weekend.

10:32He loved the ocean and would vacation on the Jersey Shore.

10:36It was also reported that, although he loved fashion and talked about it a lot, he usually

10:41wore the same thing, a white t-shirt, a plaid shirt, and cowboy boots.

10:46It was the same outfit he was wearing when he was murdered.

10:49One day, Jeffrey got violent with Stephen, attacking him physically.

10:53He elbowed Steve, grabbed him by the throat, and said,

10:56Do that again, and I'll kill you.

11:00Steve filed a harassment suit against him after this incident and had an order of protection

11:05against Jeffrey.

11:06But although Jeffrey was no longer in the office, he blamed his former employer for

11:11his unemployed status and for not promoting his website enough.

11:16Jeffrey wanted revenge and he would get it, by all means necessary.

11:20On that Friday morning, Jeffrey Johnson left his apartment at around 7.30 a.m., as was his

11:26regular routine.

11:27This time, he didn't come back.

11:31Jeffrey owned a gun permit in Tennessee, but he wasn't registered to own a pistol in New

11:36York.

11:36It is unknown whether he legally purchased the .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol he used

11:41in the shooting, whichever the case, Jeffrey stalked Steve down the street.

11:46He lurked behind a white van parked on the street for a while, watching and waiting.

11:51Then, when he felt the moment was right, he walked up to Stephen Ercolino, aimed his gun,

11:57and pulled the trigger.

11:58The gun had been wrapped in a black bag.

12:01Jeffrey used it to shoot his ex-boss in the head.

12:04Steve was shot twice, once to kill and the second for revenge.

12:09Although the Empire State Building is mentioned, the shooting didn't take place in it.

12:14Rather, it happened across the street from the building.

12:17The police were on the scene in minutes, and they fired off several rounds at Jeffrey Johnson.

12:22Bystanders and passengers were hot in the shootout, but ultimately, the oyster people who lost

12:27their lives that day were 58-year-old Jeffrey Johnson and 41-year-old Stephen Ercolino.

12:32Not all cases end as conclusive as this one, though.

12:36Our next incident is one that seemed to be set in stone, until new evidence brought to light

12:41a harrowing story that was hidden from the jury.

12:44The investigators planned to seek a hard 50 prison sentence against a 19-year-old woman charged

12:48with killing a Lawrence man.

12:50On a January night in 2014, 21-year-old Sarah Brooke Gonzalez-McClynn drugged 52-year-old Harold

12:56Hal Sasco, zip-tied the hands and ankles, and slew him in what the jury described as an especially

13:03heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner.

13:07When his body was found on the living room floor of his house in Lawrence on January 17,

13:122014, his wrists and ankles were still zip-tied.

13:15His head was nearly hanging off his body, and smeared on the walls was his own blood spelling

13:21out the word freedom.

13:23Eleven days later, his murderer was found in Everglades National Park.

13:27A year later, in 2015, Sarah was convicted of first-degree murder, and initially, she was

13:33sentenced to a minimum of 50 years in prison.

13:36But in 2021, newly elected Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez made a deal, and Sarah's

13:43sentence was cut in half in exchange for giving up the right to appeal.

13:47Hal had hired Sarah at his branch of Cece's Pizza Restaurant when she was only 14 years old.

13:53She had a troubled relationship with her parents, and to make matters worse, Sarah had been S-A-ed

13:59by a man who left her with scars from cigarette burns.

14:02She had attempted suicide, and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

14:08After Sarah graduated from Topeka High School at 17, Hal kindly welcomed her into his home.

14:14She repaid him by ending his life.

14:16And, although she initially got 50 years in prison, her lawyers made a deal to have the sentence reduced

14:22to 25 years due to her mental state.

14:25This is where the story would have ended.

14:27Mentally unwell, young adult took the life of a kind boss, who offered her shelter and

14:33called her his daughter.

14:34The end, right?

14:36However, in recent years, damning evidence has come out against Harold Sasko paints a picture

14:42that the jury didn't look at when Sarah was convicted.

14:45It paints the picture of a monster who preyed on a young girl before she finally snapped.

14:51Although Sarah had accepted Harold's invitation to live with him when she was 17 and he was

14:5550, their relationship began earlier when she was only 14.

14:59She'd walked into the building searching for work, and Hal noticed the bruises on her body,

15:04and with time, she confided in him about the horrific things she had witnessed.

15:08As a child, Sarah had been harassed by a neighbor, and at age 16, she was S.A.'d.

15:16Afterwards, she had nightmares of ending her life and that of her assaulter.

15:20Being the kind man he was, Hal promised to take care of her.

15:24Even after she left to work at other places, he kept in touch.

15:28Sarah trusted him.

15:30He was kind to her, when no one else was.

15:32So when she graduated and he offered her a place to stay, she agreed.

15:36She regrets ever moving in with him.

15:39In her words,

15:40When I moved into that house, I had no idea what was in store for me.

15:44I truly did think of him as a father figure to me.

15:47I just had no idea.

15:50But it turns out that his home was not the safe haven she'd hoped for, and his fatherly

15:55care was only a veneer.

15:56There was unlimited access to drugs in his home.

15:59It was bad enough that there were drugs left around someone so young, but Hal's cruelty

16:05soon began to show.

16:07He charged her rent, and she bought her own food.

16:10All fine and good since they shared the same space and things can get expensive.

16:16But he began to demand her paychecks.

16:18He would write down receipts for all the money she owed him, and paste it around the house,

16:23so she never forgot.

16:26After living together for about six months, he told Sarah he loved her.

16:30She shut his advances down, but he persisted.

16:34Eventually, he demanded that she sleep with him if she wanted to keep living in his house.

16:39Soon enough, Hal assaulted her.

16:42Sarah said,

16:43I was very crushed the first time that happened, and I just felt completely helpless at that

16:48point.

16:49The man would hold her paychecks, his excuses being that she owed money for gas, her phone,

16:55car repairs, and other expenses.

16:58Sarah considered leaving, but he threatened to sue if she did.

17:02He also threatened to wreck her credit rating, so that she could never get an apartment or

17:07buy a car.

17:08He warned that she would be homeless.

17:11While Sarah plunged deeper and deeper into despair, Harold Sasko seemed to be enjoying himself.

17:17The man bragged to family and friends about how amazing it was to have an 18-year-old.

17:21He did have one problem, though.

17:24Sarah Gonzalez-McClynn wasn't attractive enough.

17:26Thus began another round of mental torment.

17:29He pressured her to get a $6,000 nose job, then added that to her debts to him, more money

17:35she would have to pay before she could stop having s**t with him.

17:39He told her men didn't like flat-chested women.

17:42She needed to be curvier.

17:44When the doctor said she was too young to have breast augmentation surgery, he arranged

17:49for her to have buttocks implants instead.

17:51At first, she refused.

17:54But it felt like Hal had a leash around her neck.

17:57He was quick to add the $10,000 cost to her bill.

18:00In between all this, Hal would continue to pressure the young girl for s**tual favors.

18:05She would drink herself to a stupor when Hal wanted to sleep with her.

18:09If resisted, he would her arms down.

18:12By her estimation, Harold assaulted her two to three times per week for ten months.

18:17By late December 2013, with her lifetime of abuse on top of Harold's added trauma, Sarah's

18:24mind was already fractured.

18:26Her Google searches included questions like, why do I think so differently?

18:32She once sent a text to her sister that read, I feel like a caged animal right now and it's

18:37making me crazy.

18:39At this point, some might ask, why should we take her word for it?

18:43And isn't she bringing up these accusations to avoid taking responsibility for what she

18:48did?

18:49But it's not like the evidence on Hal's part paints him in a better light.

18:54Downloaded on his phone were hundreds of videos of violent adult content featuring teenagers,

18:59children and even animal s**tual content that starts with the letter B.

19:04His internet history shows that he frequented websites that showed videos of men touching

19:09or sleeping with sleeping women.

19:11Police reports revealed that Harold Sasko was also grooming other girls, in particular,

19:17twin 16-year-olds.

19:18He would shower them with attention and send them gifts.

19:21Some money here, clothes there, gas, an envelope of marijuana.

19:26When their furious mother found out, she blocked his number.

19:29But Hal only bought the new phones and told them that, if they ever wanted to run away,

19:33they could move in with him.

19:35A camera and flash drives were also found in his bedroom, and although a detective said

19:40images on the flash drives showed that Hal and Sarah were friends, those advocating for

19:45her weren't allowed to see the files.

19:48Whichever the case, the allegations reveal a long history of financial and psychological

19:53abuse, one that completely wore Sarah Gonzalez-McClynn down completely.

19:58Her mind was frayed to the point where composure was no longer an option.

20:01And when she could take it no longer, she snapped.

20:06January 14th, 2014.

20:08On that fateful Tuesday, Hal texted Sarah to apologize for trying to sleep with her again.

20:13Then, at 5.15 that night, he sent a text asking her to put beer in the refrigerator.

20:20Whenever he was drinking, he took out his sexual frustrations on her.

20:23That was a given.

20:25So she did the only thing she thought would set her free.

20:27Shortly before midnight, she drugged him, tied his limbs, and slit his throat.

20:32Sarah says she regrets killing Hal Sasco, but the relief it gave her felt like standing

20:37in the sun for the first time.

20:39Afterwards, Sarah Gonzalez-McClynn drove her car to Florida.

20:43She knew the body would be discovered, and she would be arrested.

20:46Her objective was to see the ocean before that happened.

20:50When she was finally arrested and brought in for questioning, Detective Jamie Lawson asked

20:55why she wrote freedom on the wall in her victim's blood.

20:58The detective asked,

21:00What were you trying to express when you did that?

21:02And Sarah replied,

21:05That's how I felt.

21:07Details of the abuse allegations were never made public because the prosecutor, Charles

21:11Branson, successfully argued that it would be inappropriate for the jury to hear about

21:16Sasco's abuse.

21:17He considered it to be irrelevant information and didn't want the news made public because

21:23the media would write about it.

21:25The judge also concluded that Gonzalez-McClynn's actions were on trial, not Sasco's character.

21:31According to Dave Ranney, a retired journalist and advocate, it was okay for prosecutors

21:37to show that Sarah was a drug-crazed, thrill-seeking teenager.

21:41It was not okay for Sarah's attorney to allege that Sasco was a s*** predator.

21:46In the end, the jury that convicted Sarah in 2015 did so without knowing about the trauma

21:52Harold Sasco allegedly put her through.

21:54Her advocates believe that her sentence was a huge injustice and are currently fighting to

21:59get her out of prison by convincing the governor to grant her clemency.

22:03In the meantime, Sarah Gonzalez-McClynn serves her prison sentence.

22:08Shortly after she arrived at prison, she asked to have the buttocks implants removed as they

22:13served as a reminder of the physical and emotional pain Sasco inflicted on her.

22:18Other than that, she revealed that being in prison has been somewhat healing.

22:22She currently helps train Labradors and Golden Retrievers to be service dogs.

22:27The case of Sarah Gonzalez-McClynn may be polarizing for some, however this 2014 incident reveals.

22:34At about 8.05 a.m. on November 28, 2014, a fire blazed at the River Ranch Apartments,

22:41where 31-year-old Ashley Harris lived.

22:44The Fort Worth Fire Department was on the scene in minutes, and they put out the blaze quickly.

22:49But, while the smoke cleared and the gloom settled, they made a chilling discovery.

22:55The body of Ashley Harris with her hands and feet bound with duct tape, blood oozing out

23:00of her head, bruised, dead.

23:03Ashley's body was partially burned, so she was ultimately identified by her tattoos and medical

23:08examiners.

23:10Determined, she had suffered blunt force trauma to her face and head, and trauma related to

23:15strangulation on her neck and throat.

23:17It was also determined that rubbing alcohol had been used as an accelerant.

23:22At first, it was thought that nothing had gone missing from the apartment, but her wallet sat

23:27open on the bathroom sink.

23:29The firefighters had come to put out a fire, but there was now a clear case of murder on

23:34law enforcement's hands.

23:35The question now was who had done it.

23:37Born in 1983, Ashley grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, in a large and loving family.

23:43She was kind, welcoming, and had a bright personality.

23:46So, naturally, she made friends wherever she went.

23:50However, unsure of her career path, Ashley began working in retail in her early 20s.

23:55It was supposed to be a temporary solution, but it stuck, and she kept working her way up

23:59the ladder.

24:01By 2011, she was an assistant manager at an American Eagle Outfitters store at Fort Worth's

24:06Hoolan Mall.

24:08Ashley was a hard worker, but managing a store was no easy task.

24:11Doing inventory checks, setting up work schedules, managing difficult employees.

24:18It was tiring.

24:19In fact, months before her death in August 2014, she had an ordeal with two difficult employees.

24:2625-year-old Carter Cervantes was an American Eagle Outfitters employee who had worked with

24:32the company for several years.

24:33She'd even managed one of the stores in Amarillo, Texas.

24:37But while Ashley Harris was a joy to work with, co-workers didn't quite enjoy Carter's

24:41company.

24:42In an interview with Snapped, one of Carter's former co-workers, Letitia Groen said,

24:48She was the one that you wanted to like you because if you got on her bad side, there

24:52was no coming back from it.

24:54She would always find a way at work to make it harder on you.

24:58Ashley and Carter worked at two different stores in two different parts of the states.

25:02However, one company violation put them in the same building.

25:06Carter had hired 19-year-old David Mallory, and their relationship soon became romantic.

25:12Dating a co-worker was against company policy.

25:16Letitia said,

25:17They weren't supposed to be dating because she controlled his pay.

25:20She controlled how much he worked, and she would just give him more preferential treatment.

25:25Our district manager basically gave her the option to quit or to get transferred.

25:31Carter chose the transfer option and moved six hours away to work in Fort Worth.

25:35Her new boyfriend, David, remained in the Amarillo store.

25:40But the 19-year-old was a bad worker.

25:42He would miss shifts without calling in, leaving the stores understaffed.

25:47Soon, not only was he fired, he was also barred from working at other American Eagle stores.

25:53He left Amarillo to move in with his girlfriend in Fort Worth.

25:57And despite the ban placed on David and the company, Carter lovingly helped him forge documents

26:02so she could hire him at the Hoolan Mall location, where she was assistant manager.

26:07The same place Ashley Harris worked.

26:11The couple were finally reunited again at work.

26:14That was until on August 24, 2014, when a hooded burglar stole $17,150.30 towels from the store

26:24following Texas' sales tax holiday weekend.

26:27Surveillance footage showed Carter leaving the back door of the store unlocked during closing,

26:32and, after everyone had left, a male in a hoodie was seen entering the store and going directly to the

26:39safe.

26:40Ashley Harris believed David and Carter were clearly the perpetrators

26:44and reported them to the police as likely suspects,

26:47despite the case remaining open with the Fort Worth Police Department,

26:51meaning the couple wasn't charged or arrested for it.

26:55With the surveillance footage, Ashley's report,

26:58and the fact that David wasn't even supposed to be working there in the first place,

27:02the company felt it was enough evidence to fire the couple.

27:06That was when the resentment started brewing.

27:09The couple had a perfect system going on, and Ashley Harris had ruined it for them.

27:14She had to pay.

27:15In preparation for the American Eagle Outfitters' Black Friday sales,

27:19Ashley worked from about 5.30 p.m. November 27th to about 3.12 p.m. on November 28th.

27:27By the time she arrived home, it was already about 3.25 a.m.

27:32She took the time to socialize with a friend who left at around 4.40 a.m.

27:37Then everything was quiet in the apartment,

27:39until at about 7.30 a.m. when a downstairs neighbor heard a loud thump,

27:44screaming and heavy breathing.

27:45A few minutes later, the fire happened and, well, you know what happened next.

27:50Finding a suspect wasn't too difficult.

27:52The neighbor who called 911 about the fire did so while looking out the window.

27:56That's when he noticed a black two-door Infinity G35 with its lights off,

28:01leaving the parking space in front of the building.

28:03He also realized one thing.

28:05The car didn't belong to anyone who lived there.

28:07And although it was first thought that nothing had been stolen from the apartment,

28:11police interviews with witnesses and Ashley's friend revealed that she left her keys,

28:17including keys to the store gate and the store safe in her wallet,

28:20which she kept on the kitchen counter.

28:22The empty wallet meant they were the only things missing from the apartment.

28:26When it was discovered that the Infinity G35 was owned by Carter Cervantes,

28:31the police checked her Instagram page to confirm and ran the license plate on the vehicle.

28:37They now had Carter and David's address.

28:40Next came the stakeout.

28:43The police began surveillance of the couple's apartment at 3.45 a.m. on November 29th.

28:49At 7.45 a.m., the pair went to Houlen Mall.

28:54While Carter went into the building, David drove the car to a different exit.

28:59It was then that police officers walked up to him and asked why he was there.

29:03The man replied that he was waiting for his girlfriend who worked at the Aeropostale store inside.

29:09This was a lie.

29:10When police asked an Aeropostale employee if Carter worked there, they replied that she did not.

29:16But that wasn't the only thing police discovered that morning.

29:19As it turns out, the locks of the American Eagle store had been changed after Ashley was killed,

29:24and two employees who were unaware of this were locked out.

29:28The officers happened to spot them,

29:30and the employees revealed that they were scheduled to make the deposit from the Black Friday sales that morning.

29:36The shocking part is their exit route would have been near where David was parked.

29:40The $40,000 to $50,000 deposit would have been known to Carter Cervantes,

29:45who, after working with the company for years,

29:49would have been familiar with the amount stores usually raked in on Black Friday.

29:53David was arrested for not having a driver's license.

29:57In his car, the authorities found ski masks, a nine-millimeter handgun,

30:01a single walkie-talkie, and a visual guide to lock-picking in the vehicle.

30:07Shovels were also found in the trunk of the vehicle.

30:10When Carter was found in her apartment later on, she agreed to be taken in for questioning.

30:16During questioning, Carter and David's stories didn't line up.

30:20Carter most especially denied being at the mall on November 29th,

30:24despite the surveillance footage.

30:26Said footage featured Carter entering the mall and attempting to unlock the gate.

30:30She had no idea that the locks to the store had been changed.

30:34So, when she found that it didn't budge, she walked from the mall home.

30:39Damning evidence was building up quickly against the couple.

30:42Armed with search warrants, the police searched Carter Cervantes' car and the shared apartment.

30:48Knives and a loaded gun were found inside the Infiniti.

30:51There was also blood on the floor mats and on the gun, it matched Ashley Harris' DNA.

30:58Investigators deduced that blunt force trauma she had suffered most likely came from being struck with the gun.

31:04In the apartment, a shopping receipt from November 21st for shovels, gloves, duct tape, rope, and a tarp was found.

31:11A classic murder kit.

31:13Text messages obtained from their phones showed them plotting Harris' murder as part of a planned Black Friday heist.

31:20The pair had planned to cart off Ashley Harris' body and bury her at a gravesite north of Abilene, Texas.

31:27However, they decided against it last minute and set the apartment ablaze instead to cover their tracks.

31:34From the text messages, it was evident that Carter Cervantes had masterminded the entire operation, leaving David Mallory as the

31:43muscle.

31:43On December 4th, 2014, arrest warrants were issued for Carter Carol Cervantes and Clarence David Mallory Jr.

31:52And the murderous couple was arrested and charged with capital murder of their ex-boss, Ashley Harris.

31:59In May 2016, the then 27-year-old Carter Carol Cervantes was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to

32:07life in prison without parole.

32:09Her boyfriend, 22-year-old Clarence David Mallory, was sentenced in August 2017.

32:14He was also found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

32:21What did you think about these dreadful cases?

32:24Let us know down in the comments.

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