A 38-year-old Texas mother was charged with capital murder on Wednesday for allegedly shooting her sister to death and forcing her 13-year-old son to get involved by disposing of the body.
The alleged murder occurred on March 31, after Houston authorities said Carmen White shot her sister, Cynthia Cervantes, multiple times, killing her. She dumped her sister’s body at the end of a dirt road and set it on fire. The police discovered Cervantes’ body the following day, Click 2 Houston reported.
According to authorities, White’s son was playing with his 12-year-old brother at the park at the time of the alleged murder. She then reportedly asked him to help transport the body from the apartment complex’s dumpster to her car, a gray Chevrolet HHR, People reported.
The son told authorities that he “reached down and lifted what felt like human legs, so he dropped the legs back to the ground.”
White got angry and made him continue moving the body.
“[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,” court records read. “[Her son] said he then went to his apartment and went to sleep.”
Video footage captured White’s car, where she left her sister’s body for six to seven minutes before leaving.
A witness claiming to be the suspect’s ex-boyfriend informed investigators that White showed him the body and asked for his help to transport the body in exchange for sexual favors. He declined, leading White to force her son to aid her. He described the body as “wrapped in a garbage bag,” but he could see that the person inside the bag was deceased.
Another witness told authorities that White acted in retaliation against her sister because White received criminal charges following Cervantes reporting a “terroristic threat” against White in February. Family members explained to police that White was “very angry” with Cervantes when she was charged with possessing methamphetamine.
“[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,” the complaint read.
The judge set White’s bond to $750,000 and reset her case for 90 days for discovery.
