Texas woman allegedly killed sister and forced teen son to move body

A Texas woman suspected of fatally shooting her sister allegedly forced her 13-year-old son to help dispose of the body in the aftermath of the incident, a felony complaint stated. 

According to PEOPLE, the complaint said the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Carmen White, shot her sister Cynthia Cervantes multiple times before discarding her body at the end of a dirt road and setting her on fire. 

White has since been charged with capital murder in her sister’s March 31 killing. 

A witness who spoke with police said White took issue with her sister reporting her to the police in February. The witness said Cervantes had called the police to report a “terroristic threat” against White, adding that the 38-year-old suspect was subsequently “arrested at the time and found to have methamphetamine in her possession.”

“[Witness] stated that [White] was very angry about [Cervantes] calling the police, having to go to jail and her previous car being towed and not being able to recover it from the tow lot,” stated the complaint.

A different witness also informed the police that White got in touch with him on March 31 to ask for his help in return for sexual favors. The witness said White had wanted him to help her dispose of a body.

After going to White’s apartment, the witness said the suspect led him to a unit “where she showed him a body and said that she needed help moving the body to her vehicle in exchange for sexual favors as payment,” the complaint stated. 

“[Witness] described the body as wrapped in a garbage bag, but he could clearly see that the person was deceased.”

The witness said he refused to help move the body and told White to drop him off at home.

White’s 13-year-old son also told investigators that he was playing with his 12-year-old brother at the park when White came there, the complaint stated, per PEOPLE. He alleged his mother took him to the apartment’s dumpster and “instructed him to assist her in lifting a bagged unknown item from the dumpster area and placing it in her trunk of her vehicle.”

White’s son, in the complaint, also informed investigators that he “reached down and lifted what felt like human legs, so he dropped the legs back to the ground.” White is said to have gotten agitated and forced the teen to lift the body and move it to her car. 

“[Her son] said that he again resisted, but his mother became extremely aggressive, and he feared what she may do to him, so he gave in out of fear for his safety,” the complaint added. “[Her son] said he then went to his apartment and went to sleep.”

The suspect is scheduled to re-appear before a court on June 29.