Dateline: Black Friday - 5 harrowing details about Ashlea Ann Harris' homicide, revealed

A Dateline episode on NBC dives deep into one of the darkest crimes that was enough to shake Fort Worth, Texas. The "Black Friday" case on Dateline tells the story of a woman named Ashlea Ann Harris, a retail manager whose life was cut short in the most brutal way, right before the holiday shopping rush.

But why did this happen, and who did it? The answers tied to this case reveal a story of betrayal, greed, and cruelty all at once.

Let's take a deeper look at the case below.

Dateline: Black Friday - 5 harrowing details about Ashlea Ann Harris' homicide, revealed

1. A suspicious fire that revealed something far worse

As seen on Dateline, on the morning of November 28, 2014, firefighters were seen rushing into Ashlea Harris' apartment after neighbors called in and reported smoke. What seemed like like a routine fire call soon turned out to be a deadly crime scene.

Ashlea Ann Harris (Image Via: Dateline NBC, YouTube)

Inside, what they discovered was: Harris was tied up with duct tape, brutally beaten, and to top it off, also strangled. The fire wasn't what had killed her. In fact, it had been set after the killing had been done.

Investigators later found rubbing alcohol as the means used to start the fire, though it's a weak accelerant, pointing to a clumsy attempt to cover up the crime. Instead of destroying evidence, the flames exposed something chilling: someone had gone to great lengths to make her death look accidental.

2. The missing key is the key that changed it all

According to Dateline, the detectives noticed something really important, and that is Harris' car and apartment keys were nowhere to be found/seen in sight. Those keys were more than just personal belongings. They were also linked to the American Eagle Outfitters store where Harris worked as an assistant manager.

Black Friday sales meant a large amount of money was locked up inside the store, and whoever had her keys had access to it. Investigators began piecing together a picture: this was not a random act of violence. Harris had likely been targeted because of her link to the store, and the killers perhaps wanted those keys.

3. A black Infiniti no one recognized

While police worked the crime scene, a neighbor stepped forward with an important lead. He recalled seeing a black Infiniti parked outside Harris' apartment that didn't belong to any of the residents living in the area.

The fire (Image Via: Dateline NBC, YouTube)

That small detail set a chain for everything to shift. The car matched one owned by Carter Cervantes, a former American Eagle manager who had been fired months earlier under suspicious circumstances. Carter wasn't alone.

Her boyfriend, David Mallory, had also been let go from the company after a string of issues. Suddenly, detectives had names and a motive that was rooted in workplace revenge and greed.

4. The “murder kit” that exposed a deadly plan

According to Dateline, when the police searched Carter and David's apartment, what they uncovered made the crime seem even more premeditated. A receipt showed they had purchased items no one would casually buy together: rope, duct tape, gloves, a tarp, and shovels.

Prosecutors later called it a "murder kit." Investigators also found several knives, a loaded gun, and even Ashlea's DNA inside Carter's car. It became clear that the fire had not been the original plan.

The couple had once talked of burying Harris' body in a remote spot. Setting her apartment on fire was a desperate, last-minute attempt to hide their tracks.

5. Surveillance cameras that sealed their fate

Dateline mentions that the detectives didn't just have the receipts and circumstantial evidence but they they had video evidence too. The morning after Harris' death, cameras at Hulen Mall captured Carter trying to break into the American Eagle store using Harris' stolen keys.

The Surveillance cam (Image Via. Dateline NBC, YouTube)

What she didn't know was that the locks had already been changed. The footage tied everything together. With the evidence stacked against them, Carter and David were arrested.

In court, prosecutors talked about Carter being the mastermind and David being the muscle to handle business. Both of the men were found guilty of murder and were sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Dateline episode "Black Friday" doesn't just look back at the murder of Ashlea Ann Harris, but it lays down how jealousy, revenge, and greed led to a killing that stunned the Fort Worth, Texas community.

What started as a plot to steal holiday sales money ended in an act of violence against a woman who had simply done the right thing at work. Harris's story is a reminder that even ordinary days, like Black Friday, can hold tragedy that no one would dare to think of.