Police: Arlington Woman Found Dead In Apartment Was Murdered
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) – Police announced Friday that an Arlington woman found dead in her apartment earlier this week was strangled to death.
Friends of 29-year-old Evilia Valencia said the woman was discovered Monday by her own children when they came home from school.
The Tarrant County medical examiner said Valencia was found in her bed and had been strangled.
Friends also said the woman's three-month old daughter was still in her mother's arms.
Sgt. Os Flores' only description of the scene inside was that detectives noticed certain items were misplaced.
They would not say if they have any suspects, only that investigators are working on building a timeline of the last people Valencia was in contact with.
Valencia had contact with Arlington police last year when she filed a complaint about an officer.
An attorney from the law office of Domingo Garcia in Dallas, who represented Valencia during that time, said she was harassed by a police officer who responded to a call at a bar where she worked in August of 2010.
The attorney said Valencia told her the officer called at odd hours, accused her of possessing drugs and even forced her to disrobe once to prove it.
The attorney said Valencia also was afraid the officer would take her four children away, and deport her to Mexico because she was in the country illegally.
Arlington police confirmed the officer was fired because of Valencia's complaints.
They would not say when he was fired but that it was recent enough he was still able to appeal the decision.
A viewing for Valencia is scheduled Saturday at the Carillo Funeral Home in Dallas.
Valencia's family plans to bury her in her native Mexico. Her four children are staying with relatives.
