More than 12 years after a Texas woman was discovered stabbed nearly 100 times inside her apartment, authorities say a real estate agent has been jailed without bond on a capital murder charge.
Mayra Velasquez, 42, was taken into custody and booked into the Tarrant County Corrections Center on July 17 in connection with the death of Irasema Chavez, the Arlington Police Department said. County jail records also confirm her booking.
Chavez, 32, was found dead on Jan. 20, 2012, in her second-floor apartment in the 2700 block of South Collins Street. At the time, detectives noted there were no clear signs of forced entry, suggesting the victim may have known her killer or allowed the person inside voluntarily.
Mayra Velasquez, 42, has been charged with murder in the 2012 killing of 32-year-old Irasema Chavez. (Tarrant County Jail)
Surveillance footage obtained by KDFW-TV from the night before Chavez was found showed someone dressed in loose-fitting clothing and a hoodie walking up the stairs to her apartment. The person knocked, appeared to speak briefly with someone at the door and was then let inside.
Arlington police later released the video, hoping someone would recognize the visitor. But the unclear footage did not generate the lead investigators were looking for, and the homicide investigation eventually went cold.
Irasema Chavez was found stabbed to death inside her South Collins Street apartment on Jan. 20, 2012, with roughly 100 knife wounds, according to FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth. (KDFW-TV)
Still, detectives preserved a critical piece of evidence from the scene: blood that did not belong to Chavez.
In 2016, Arlington police worked with Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs to analyze the unknown DNA. The company used DNA phenotyping technology to produce a composite predicting the person’s likely appearance, including long brown hair and Latino ancestry.
Still, no firm suspect emerged.
Arlington police eventually partnered with Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs to construct a predicted profile of the suspect from scene DNA, though the resulting composite led to no initial breakthroughs. (KDFW-TV)
The case gained new life in November 2024, when Arlington police brought it to the FBI’s Dallas Field Office and sought help from the bureau’s investigative genetic genealogy program. That process produced what authorities described as a significant lead earlier this year.
Detectives then gathered additional evidence and obtained a warrant for Velasquez, police said.
Authorities have not released what evidence confirmed the genealogy lead, whether investigators obtained a direct DNA comparison from Velasquez or if she knew Chavez.
Velasquez had worked locally as a real estate agent for years, often promoting property listings on her social media accounts. (KDFW-TV)
Velasquez had worked locally as a real estate agent for years, posting property listings on her social media accounts.
Her Texas real estate license remained active as of Monday, and state records listed her with Pure Realtors LLC, KDFW-TV reported. INC News has reached out to the company for comment.
Mayra Velasquez smiling in a photo in Mexico and in London. (Facebook/Mayra Velasquez)
Velasquez’s social media account captured the real estate agent gallivanting on trips with family and friends following the alleged murder.
Photos showed her smiling on trips to Peru, Mexico, Paris and London.
Tarrant County’s inmate database lists Velasquez’s charge as “capital murder by terror threat/other felony.”
Arlington police and the FBI are expected to address the arrest during a joint news conference Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. CST. INC News has reached out to Velasquez’s attorney for comment.
