Mayra Velasquez, 42, was arrested in July 2026 in connection with the 2012 stabbing death of her friend Irasema Chavez in Arlington, Texas. Investigative Genetic Genealogy helped identify Velasquez in April 2026, and DNA from a discarded plastic fork collected in May matched the 2012 crime-scene blood. Velasquez is held without bond on a capital murder charge; investigators have not released a motive. Officials praised the persistence of investigators and noted IGG has aided hundreds of cold-case resolutions nationwide.
Discarded Fork DNA Leads to Arrest in 2012 Arlington Stabbing: Friend Charged
Irasema ChavezCredit: Arlington Police Department
Investigators arrested 42-year-old Mayra Velasquez on July 16, 2026, after matching her DNA to crime-scene blood from the 2012 stabbing death of her friend, Irasema Chavez, in Arlington, Texas. Velasquez is jailed without bond on a capital murder charge, and authorities have not disclosed a motive.
How Genetic Genealogy Renewed the Cold Case
Chavez, 32, was discovered in her apartment on January 19, 2012, with more than 100 stab wounds, the Arlington Police Department (APD) said. Crime-scene investigators recovered a drop of blood from a bedroom television stand; laboratory testing identified the sample as coming from an unknown Hispanic female. That DNA profile was entered into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but it produced no matches at the time.
In November 2024, APD's Homicide Unit partnered with the FBI Dallas Field Office to apply Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) to the cold case. APD described IGG as a method that combines unidentified crime-scene DNA with detailed genealogy research and publicly available historical records to develop new investigative leads.
Mayra VelasquezCredit: Arlington Police Department
Key Break in 2026: Fork from Discarded Trash
Less than two years after launching the IGG effort, investigators identified Chavez's close friend, Mayra Velasquez, as a person of interest in April 2026. In May 2026, authorities recovered a discarded plastic fork from trash and obtained Velasquez's DNA from it. Crime-laboratory testing later confirmed that the DNA from the fork matched the 2012 blood sample, according to WFAA and APD statements.
Arrest, Reaction and Ongoing Investigation
Velasquez was booked into the Tarrant County Jail and is being held without bond on a capital murder charge, online jail records viewed by People indicate. APD has not publicly identified a motive. Cold Case Detective Tracey Dixon told reporters she informed Chavez's family of the arrest and described their reaction as emotional and grateful.
"Everybody who touches a case like this feels that elation when it's solved, feels the pain for the family," Dixon said at a news conference, according to WFAA.
Arlington Police Chief Al Jones praised his team's persistence, noting that roughly a dozen cold cases have been solved recently with the help of DNA technology. FBI Dallas special agent Joe Rothrock added that investigative genetic genealogy has contributed to solving hundreds of cases nationwide since 2018. The arrest and matched DNA are part of an ongoing investigation; as with any pending criminal case, the suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
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