DALLAS — A 17-year-old girl who had an AMBER Alert issued for her in September has now been indicted by a Dallas County grand jury on a capital murder charge, officials said.
The teen, identified by affidavits as Natalie Navarro, received the indictment for capital murder by terroristic threat on Tuesday morning, according to online records.
Police said Yordy Martinez, 21, has also been indicted in the case, but authorities have not found him since he fled in September.
Arturo Pena was a Mesquite man reported missing by Dallas Police on Aug. 27 and found dead with a gunshot wound by officers on Aug. 29 in Garland's Audubon Park. On Sept. 1, Dallas police issued an AMBER Alert for Navarro, listing Martinez as the suspect. The alert was discontinued hours later, at 3:33 a.m. on Sept. 1. Police told WFAA that the AMBER Alert was in the process of being issued but the girl was found safely before the alert was sent.
By noon on Sept. 1, Garland police told WFAA that both Navarro and Martinez were identified as two persons of interest in the murder. According to Garland police, the reason Pena never made it back home is because Navarro and Martinez set him up.
Navarro was arrested in South Texas, and Martinez has yet to be found. Police told WFAA that they believe Martinez fled to Mexico. Investigators are working with federal law enforcement to reach out to Mexican authorities.
WFAA spoke with Pena's mother a week after police found her son's body.
Villareal interviewed with WFAA in Spanish. The following quotes have been translated into English.
"They took my heart, they destroyed it, they threw it away, my life not just my life, my son’s life too," Villareal said.
You can see the full interview with Pena's mother here.
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