Woman who allegedly had her 13-year-old son help hide her sister's body in custody, records say

The woman had her teenage son help hide the body said he said he complied because he "feared what she may do to him," records say.

Charly Edsitty Image
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
Woman accused of killing her sister and dumping her body in custody
Carmen White is no longer on the run after allegedly shooting her sister to death and then having her son help her dump the burned body.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman charged with murdering her sister and dumping her body back in April is in custody, officials said.

Carmen White has been charged with capital murder for the shooting death of her sister Cynthia Cervantes.

White was arrested back on Feb. 8 on a charge of terroristic threat of a family member and possession of a controlled substance, and when it was time to appear in court for those charges, she never showed. She is expected back in court for this charge on Tuesday morning.

No court date has been set for the murder charge.

On April 1, police said Cervantes' burned body was found in north Houston.

A family friend told authorities that he noticed White's strange and odd behavior since her sister's death.

He said he noticed White became paranoid and extremely nervous on April 8 after she insisted on trading her vehicle she had bought on March 5. She claimed the air conditioner was broken.

WATCH: Woman charged after her sister was found burned to death, records show

Records state that the woman asked her 13-year-old son to help hid her sister's body, and he did because "he feared what (his mother) may do to him."

White's gray Chevrolet HHR was spotted on camera footage from Texas Blending and Warehousing on April 1, investigators said.

The family friend was shown images of the vehicle and was able to identify it as White's, pointing out the marks on the vehicle and a yellow dent on the driver's side and rear paper tags.

Records indicate a significant amount of blood was detected in the "rear cargo area and on an envelope found under the front driver's side seat."

The friend also told authorities that White had a motive for killing her sister. He said White was mad that Cervantes called the police on her and wanted to get back at her sister.

When White's ex-boyfriend said he would not help White move her sister's body to her trunk, court documents state she had her 13-year-old son help.

The boy said he "reached down and lifted what felt like human legs, so he dropped the legs on the ground."

He said his mother became extremely aggressive and he "feared what she may do to him, so he gave in out of fear for his safety."

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