A Texas real estate agent has been arrested in connection with the 2012 killing of a woman who was found stabbed nearly 100 times in her Arlington apartment, following a breakthrough using investigative genetic genealogy.
Mayra Velasquez, 42, was arrested on July 17 and charged with capital murder in the death of 32-year-old Irasema Chavez, according to Tarrant County jail records.
Chavez was found dead inside her second-floor apartment on Jan. 20, 2012. Investigators said she had suffered approximately 100 stab wounds. There were no signs of forced entry, leading detectives to believe she may have known the person who entered her home.
At the time, surveillance footage showed an unidentified individual approaching Chavez’s apartment and being allowed inside shortly before the killing. Although investigators recovered blood evidence that did not belong to the victim, DNA testing failed to identify a suspect, and the case eventually went cold.
In 2024, the Arlington Police Department partnered with the FBI’s Dallas Field Office to reexamine the case using Investigative Genetic Genealogy, a technique that combines crime scene DNA with public genealogy databases and family tree analysis.
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Authorities said the investigation produced a significant lead that allowed detectives to gather additional evidence and obtain an arrest warrant for Velasquez. Investigators have not disclosed the nature of the new evidence or whether it included a direct DNA match, and it remains unclear whether Velasquez and Chavez knew each other.
Velasquez is being held without bond. A court date has not yet been announced.
