Inset: Karl Andrew Stanley (Collin County District Attorney’s Office). Background: The residential area near where Stanley killed his ex-girlfriend in Celina, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing his ex-girlfriend in a brutal home invasion while armed with a car jack.
Karl Andrew Stanley, 55, was convicted Thursday by a jury on one count of capital murder by terroristic threat over the November 2024 death of 51-year-old Paola Becvar. The killing happened Nov. 25, 2024, at a home on Seattle Slew Drive in the Mustang Lakes area of Celina, a medium-sized city along the far northern edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
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Celina police officers arrived at the woman’s house after a burglary call around 3:15 p.m. that day, according to a report by Dallas-based ABC affiliate WFAA.
The victim was found inside with severe injuries and died at the scene despite lifesaving efforts, police said. Stanley was still at the residence when officers arrived and was arrested.
The day before the murder, Stanley was arrested for trespassing but was released that same day, law enforcement noted. Two hours before the murder, police obtained a warrant to arrest Stanley for stalking.
The trial began and ended this week, Collin County court records show.
Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before finding the defendant guilty, according to a courtroom report by WFAA. The verdict automatically triggered a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole because the state did not seek the death penalty.
In turn, Collin County Judge Richard Davis imposed that sentence.
During the trial, testimony showed that Stanley broke into Becvar’s home and began beating her with a car jack before strangling her with his hands. Investigators testified the killing was retaliation for the woman reporting Stanley for stalking and harassment.
A carpenter who was working inside the house told the jury he saw the defendant break in and start to beat the victim. The carpenter said he wrestled the car jack away from Stanley before the defendant followed the victim through the residence and killed her.
Responding officers found Stanley near Becvar’s body with her blood and hair on his hands. A search of the defendant’s car also turned up a “grudge list” with the woman’s name at the top.
“This man killed a woman in her own home because she reported his stalking to police,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said in a statement. “He broke in with a car jack, attacked her, and strangled her. A Collin County jury convicted him, and now he will spend every day of the rest of his life in prison while her family will live every day with their loss.”
The victim’s loved ones mourned her while welcoming the verdict.
“I hope that as this chapter of the legal process comes to a close, her family can begin to find some peace and healing,” a close friend told the Celina Record. “Paola’s life should never be defined by the tragedy of how she died, but by the beautiful person she was, the love she gave so freely, her faith, her laughter, and the countless lives she touched.”
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