A woman is found brutally stabbed nearly 100 times inside her own apartment. Detectives have DNA, surveillance footage, and years of dead ends—but no suspect. Then, 14 years later, advances in forensic genetic genealogy suddenly breathe new life into the cold case, leading investigators to the arrest of a Texas real estate agent named Mayra Velasquez.
On January 19, 2012, Irasema Chavez was stabbed to death in her apartment in Arlington, Texas. There is not too much available publicly about Irasema and her background. We know that she was 32 when she died.
This information about the events of January 19, 2012 is from Crimelines True Crime:
9:30p: Irasema Chavez called her sister and asked if she would sleepover. She didn’t want to drive at night so she invited Irasema to her home instead. Irasema turned down the invitation.
11:29p: Someone knocks on Irasema’s door. They are seen on security video standing there for over a minute before being let in. The visitor did not need to force entry which led to investigators surmising that Irasema knew her attacker.
A television was stolen from the home but a recording device was left behind which allowed police to view the CCTV footage we discussed.
In August that year, police released the footage from Irasema’s security camera and initially identified the person as a man. Lab results on the DNA indicate the killer was actually a Hispanic female.
The DNA profile of this unknown individual was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which is a national law enforcement database used to compare DNA profiles in criminal investigations. The profile did not generate any matches at the time.
In 2018, Parabon Nanolabs released a DNA snapshot of the possible suspect, based on the blood left behind at the scene.
Over the years, tips kept coming in. In November 2024, the Arlington Police Department Homicide Unit met with the FBI Dallas Field Office to discuss whether the case would be a good candidate for their Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) program. IGG is a process that uses unidentified crime scene DNA, intensive genealogy research, and publicly available historical records to develop new leads for law enforcement agencies. The FBI’s IGG team agreed to assist with the case.
In April 2026, the IGG team notified detectives that their work had identified a potential suspect, Mayra Velasquez. Mayra was at one time a close friend of Irasema and lived just a few miles away from the crime scene.
In May 2026, Arlington detectives took two plastic forks, plate, and cup left behind at a restaurant Mayra was eating at with her friends. The items were sent to a lab for further analysis.
The lab determined her DNA was a match to the blood droplet recovered from the bedroom television stand. Detectives note it is common during stabbing attacks for an assailant to inadvertently cut themselves, which is how they believe Mayra’s blood was left at the crime scene.
A motive for the murder is still unclear. Police say the two were friends. Investigators also say the DNA match + information from the victim’s cell phone + an interview with Mayra all led to this arrest. Plus, authorities did receive a tip shortly after the murder indicating that Mayra’s husband was jealous of the two women’s close relationship.
Mayra was booked into the Arlington City Jail and was transferred to the Tarrant County Jail. She is charged with capital murder.
Arlington Police Chief of Police Al Jones said “I am extremely proud of the work that our officers and crime scene investigators did on this case. They showed tenacity and dedication and never gave up.”
Det. Tracy Dixon, the main homicide detective on the case, said “Being able to share that with the family is why we do this work, and they were very grateful.”
Joe Rothrock, the special agent in charge of the FBI Dallas Field Office, praised investigative genetic genealogy as “one of the most valuable tools law enforcement has today.” Since 2018, the FBI has used this method to solve more than 250 cases across 30 states, he said.
On July 29, 2026, Mayra was released from the Tarrant County Jail after posting a $450,000 bond.
Her release came after her attorneys challenged an initial bond denial. She was bonded out with conditions including:
GPS/Ankle monitoring
Surrendering of her passport
She must remain with Dallas and Tarrant Counties under court supervision.
Mayra sat with her attorneys and spoke to the media.
“I am Mayra Velasquez. I did not do this,”
Mayra said she could never harm her friend. “I will never do this to anyone. I’m a good person. She was my friend. All those people who know me, they know that I could never do something like this to anyone.”
“I have faith in God that they’re going to find out who did this to her, my friend,” she said.
Her attorney, Frank Sellers, said security camera footage of the suspected killer shows a person with a different body type.
He also urged investigators to reexamine another woman who knew Irasema.
“There was a breakup that happened that day between Irasema and another woman,” Sellers said. “This is somebody who had passion. This is somebody who, as the initial detective said, he thought was from a romantic fallout.”
Her attorneys said they arranged the brief statement to show Mayra is not capable of committing a brutal killing.
“I think part of the reason we wanted Mayra to come and talk to everybody is she deeply cared about her friend Irasema,” attorney McCall Hoops said. “You can sense that when you’re near her, when she talks about her.”
SOURCE LIST
https://abcnews.com/US/fbi-dna-testing-leads-suspect-arrest-texas-cold/story?id=134991714
https://www.basementfortproductions.com/crimelines-episodes/irasemachavez