Left: Zander Tashman (Frisco Police Dept.). Right: Ellyse Suarez (Stonebriar Funeral Home and Cremation Services). Inset: Frisco Commons Park (Neighborhoods.com — YouTube screenshot)

An 18-year-old man in Texas has been arrested and charged with a felony for allegedly helping his 17-year-old girlfriend kill herself by drowning in a local pond last year. Zander Tashman was taken into custody over the weekend and charged with one count of aiding the suicide of another individual, Ellyse Suarez, authorities announced.

According to a news release from the Frisco Police Department, officers on Nov. 20, 2023, responded to a call regarding “suspicious activity” at Frisco Commons Park, which is in the 8000 block of McKinney Road in Frisco, Texas. Frisco is about 30 miles north of Dallas.

Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they found the body of a 17-year-old girl — later identified as Suarez — in the pond. She was pronounced dead on the scene in what appeared to be a suicide.

Suarez’s cause of death was ultimately determined to be drowning.

“After an exhaustive investigation, evidence collected in the case indicated that 18-year-old Zander Tashman of Frisco aided the deceased, his 17-year-old girlfriend, in committing suicide,” police wrote in the release. “Subsequently, Detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest, and Tashman was taken into custody on February 18, 2024.”