A Texas man has been arrested and charged with murdering his high school teacher wife late last week.
Brandon Ashley was arrested on Sunday in Grimes County, about two and a half hours from the couple’s home in Alvarado, where 33-year-old Chelsea Spillers’ body was found on Saturday, KXAS reported.
Alvarado Police Assistant Chief Ben Moore said that a neighbor called police on Thursday about possible domestic violence at the couple’s home. When officers arrived, Ashley put a gun to his head and was ultimately arrested for interference of officials duty. Spillers later bailed him out of jail.
Officers were called back to the home for a welfare check on Saturday and found Spillers dead. Investigators believe she was killed sometime before 5:30 p.m. that day.
After a preliminary autopsy determined she died from blunt force trauma, police obtained a warrant for Ashley’s arrest.
The following day, the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office got a call about a suspicious man trespassing at a home in Bedias, according to KDFW. He was said to be wearing black shorts and no shirt and was possibly carrying a pistol.
Multiple residents said the man had knocked on their doors earlier in the day asking for a shirt. He also reportedly told the residents he was avoiding a nearby highway because there were “too many cops.” Deputies combed the area but didn’t find him.
The next morning, a 911 call reported a suspicious vehicle on private property in the area, a black Cadillac Escalade that the call said was on pastureland and may have been stolen. An hour after that call, the sheriff’s office got a call about a suspicious man at a convience store. Deputies obtained surveillance video of the man, who came back to the convenience store about 15 minutes later and was arrested.
They identified him as Ashley, and he claimed to have hidden a firearm near the store, although he wouldn’t say where. Deputies later recovered it.
After his arrest in Grimes County, deputies learned he was wanted for murder in Johnson County. He is now in jail waiting to be returned to Alvarado.
Alvarado Independent School District said that Spillers taught biology and chemistry at Alvarado High School.
“She was a dedicated educator who loved her scholars and Alvarado ISD team,” the district said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and our entire Alvarado ISD family,” school officials said in a statement to the Alvarado ISD families.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Chelsea Spillers/Alvarado ISD and Brandon Ashley/Grimes County Sheriff’s Offfice]
