Texas real estate agent Mayra Velasquez, 42, was arrested Friday in connection with the killing of a woman who was stabbed more than 100 times in her apartment over a decade ago

Velasquez is accused of stabbing 33-year-old Irasema Chavez to death inside her South Collins Street apartment in Arlington, TX, on January 20, 2012

Velasquez was arrested Friday and booked into the Tarrant County Corrections Center, where she is being held on a charge of capital murder

Only key evidence was grainy surveillance footage of a shadowy, hooded figure walking to Chavez’s apt unit the night before the murder, cops are confident Velasquez is the person captured in the footage 

Mayra Velasquez, [photo], was arrested July 17, in connection with the killing of a woman who was stabbed more than 100 times in her apt. 14 years ago. The Texas real estate agent was arrested July 17 for capital murder and booked into the Tarrant County Corrections Center

A successful Texas realtor has been arrested in connection with the brutal killing of her ‘close friend,’ who was found stabbed over 100 times in her apartment more than a decade ago.
Mayra Velasquez, 42, was arrested Friday on charges of capital murder of Irasema Chavez.
32-year-old Chavez was stabbed to death inside her apartment in Arlington on January 20, 2012.
The murder investigation went cold for 14 years until police partnered on the case with the FBI in 2024. The latter’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Program, led to the breakthrough, guiding investigators to Velasquez. 

Mayra Velasquez is accused of stabbing 33-year-old Irasema Chavez, [photo], to death inside her South Collins Street apartment in Arlington on January 20, 2012

In an emotional press conference Wednesday morning, Arlington Homicide Detective Tracey Dixon tearfully described the moment she was finally able to update the victim’s family on the case after years of uncertainty.
‘Telling the family…’ Dixon began, before pausing for a long moment and looking back up with tears in her eyes.
‘That’s why being able to share that with the family is why we do this work. They were very grateful, it was emotional.’
‘But everybody who is involved in this – everybody who touches a case like this – feels this elation when it’s solved, feels the pain for the family and the reason we all give so much of ourselves… is for that,’ she added in a broken voice.
Arlington Police Chief Alexander ‘Al’ Jones revealed that Velasquez and Chavez were ‘close friends,’ with Velasquez living only a few miles from the apartment where Chavez was found dead. 
Velasquez had been inside the apartment several times before the grim discovery, Chief Jones said, though a motive for the alleged killing remains unclear. 

The only key evidence was grainy surveillance footage of a shadowy, hooded figure walking to Chavez’s apartment unit the night before the murder. Cops said they are now confident Velasquez is the person captured in the footage 

For years, investigators were left with little more than grainy surveillance footage showing a shadowy, hooded figure entering the apartment the night before the murder, while DNA evidence failed to match anyone in existing databases.
Officials said that they are now confident they have the right person in custody and believe Velasquez is the person captured in the surveillance footage. 
Chief Jones also provided more details about the crime scene, revealing that a television was stolen from Chavez’s apartment and is believed to have been taken by the killer. 

Arlington Homicide Detective Tracey Dixon tearfully described the moment she was finally able to update the victim’s family on the breakthrough in the case

The case went cold for 14 years until police partnered with the FBI in 2024 and used its Investigative Genetic Genealogy Program, which ultimately led investigators to Velasquez, now a successful real estate agent with Pure Realtors, LLC in Texas

Investigators also recovered a drop of blood from a TV stand inside the unit that was determined not to belong to Chavez. 
Officials said information about Chavez and Velasquez’s relationship recovered from a cellphone proved to be ‘valuable’ and will be presented in court. 
Dixon also said investigators learned ‘helpful information’ during their interview with Velasquez, adding that her statements would ‘help the prosecution.’ 
Though the investigation remains ongoing , the police chief said, for now investigators are not looking at anyone else in connection with the case, while urging anyone with additional information to come forward. 
Velasquez is currently being held at the Tarrant County Corrections Center without bond, and a date for her next court appearance has not yet been announced.

Investigators recovered a drop of blood from a TV stand inside the unit that was determined not to belong to Chavez. Information about Chavez and Velasquez’s relationship, recovered from a cellphone proved to be ‘valuable’ and will be presented in court police said 

Multiple leads – including the surveillance footage and blood found at the scene that did not belong to Chavez – failed to identify a suspect, with DNA testing at the time producing no matches in law enforcement databases. 

Her arrest brought the first major break in the mysterious case of Chavez, whose concerned family members discovered her brutally slain inside her second-floor apartment on South Collins Street in January 2012.
Authorities determined Chavez had been stabbed roughly 100 times, but found no signs of forced entry into the apartment – leading police to believe she may have known her killer. 
An investigation was launched, with Jones reiterating at the press conference that detectives conducted a thorough process, ‘turning every stone’ in their search for answers. 
At the time, police released the haunting surveillance footage taken the night before the grim discovery in hopes of identifying the person captured on camera. 
In the footage, a hooded figure in baggy clothing is seen walking up the stairs to Chavez’s apartment and knocking on the door. 
The suspect was seen briefly speaking with the person who answered before walking inside, suggesting they were willingly invited in.
Multiple leads – including the surveillance footage and blood found at the scene that did not belong to Chavez – failed to identify a suspect, with DNA testing at the time producing no matches in law enforcement databases. 
‘The pool of the DNA sample was very limited. The technology was very expensive. It was far from being perfect and it was delayed,’ Dr Del Carmen, a criminologist not involved in the investigation, said on TV about the resources available in 2012. 

Officials have only revealed that Velasquez [photo], and Chavez were ‘close friends,’ though the motive for the killing still remains unclear

In the years following the alleged murder, Velasquez appeared to maintain a lush life as a realtor showcased online

Velasquez’s public social media posts show a life filled with travel alongside her family and friends  

Witnesses also had limited information and, as new leads dried up, the case eventually went cold. 
In 2016, police turned to Parabon NanoLabs, where scientists used DNA markers tied to ancestry and physical traits – including eye color, hair color and skin tone – to generate a predicted image of the unknown suspect.
Investigators released a phenotype report and computer-generated image based on the DNA, offering clues about physical traits and Latino ancestry. 
The image did not help authorities identify a suspect, however.
In 2024, the Arlington Police Department turned to the FBI’s Dallas Field Office and its Investigative Genetic Genealogy program for a fresh look at the cold case.
The agency’s advanced investigative program combines crime-scene DNA analysis with public genealogy databases and family tree research to uncover and reexamine new leads in murder cases.
Two years later, the testing produced a significant lead that detectives used to develop additional evidence. 
During Wednesday’s press conference, Chief Jones revealed that investigators obtained DNA from discarded trash in May and sent it to the crime lab for further analysis. 

Authorities found no signs of forced entry into the victim’s apartment, leading them to believe Velasquez, [photo], may have known her killer

The evidence ultimately pointed investigators to Velasquez and provided enough probable cause to secure an arrest warrant.
Chief Jones said, she was located and taken into custody ‘without incident.’ 
Detective Dixon said investigators were ‘elated’ to uncover information about the suspect through the genetic program, despite the process being extremely ‘labor intensive.’ 
Speaking on the technology, Dr Del Carmen told explains: ‘It’s not based on a guess. It’s not based on a witness that may have seen something.’
‘It’s based on the DNA that already tells there are certain components of that DNA that are typical of people that may have green eyes or may have brown eyes,’ he added.  

In the footage, the suspect was seen speaking with the person who answered the door before walking inside. Authorities found no signs of forced entry into the victim’s apartment, leading them to believe she may have known her killer

Velasquez is still an active real estate agent with Pure Realtors, LLC. She also worked as Affiliate Manager for JC Limo

‘We’re fascinated in the media and in the public realm because we just love the idea of justice finally being served. But I do believe that in many cases the reason is because DNA sampling has become so much better.’
Velasquez, an active real estate agent with Pure Realtors, LLC, most recently worked as Affiliate Manager for JC Limo, which provides ‘reliable luxury transportation throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond,’ according to her LinkedIn. 
In the years following the alleged murder, Velasquez appeared to maintain a lush life as a realtor, with public social media posts showing moments shared with family and friends. 
Her Facebook page paints a picture of a life filled with travel, with photos showing trips to Peru, Mexico, Paris, London, Jamaica and New York City alongside what appear to be her husband and two sons.