More charges filed against Houston man years after woman's body found with limbs missing

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston man was indicted by a grand jury in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, in connection with the murder of a Houston woman in 2019.

Carl Tates, 63, is being charged with second-degree murder for the death of 44-year-old Demetris Lincoln. Tates and Lincoln are from Houston, according to documents.

The victim's family told police they last heard from her on Aug. 16, 2019. They called Houston police for a welfare check on Aug. 23. Charging documents said officers found her home was empty with no signs of forced entry, but Lincoln's cell phone was there.

Her family told police she was in an "abusive and violent relationship" with Tates, according to court records.

Four hours from Houston, a woman's body in a "fairly advanced stage of decomposition" with missing limbs was found in a shallow ditch in Washington, Louisiana, on Aug. 19, 2019. At the time, authorities noted in court records that they were not able to identify the woman.

Later in August, authorities and family were able to identify the victim as Lincoln. An official cause of death was never determined because of the state of her body, records say.

Court documents said cell phone records and license plate readers showed Tates traveling to Louisiana the day Lincoln was last heard from.

He was charged with murder in Harris County in October 2022 in her death. The Harris County District Attorney's Office did not say what will happen to the local charge that has kept Tates in jail for a year and a half.

ABC13 attempted to reach the St. Landry Parish District Attorney's Office to find out what led to the recent indictment four and a half years after her death but has not heard back.

In a release, the office said that Tates will be extradited back to Louisiana for his charge.

In Texas, someone convicted of murder will face five to 99 years behind bars. In Louisiana, a second-degree murder charge carries a sentence of mandatory life in prison with hard labor without the possibility of parole.

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