Jazmine Alexis Bates, a 22-year-old University of Alabama student, and her friend Jose Felix Alvarez-Duenas, 31, were found shot dead inside a home in Brookwood, Alabama, on Monday, along with a dog they were pet-sitting. The homeowner became suspicious after spotting a person on her security cameras and alerted authorities.
Welfare check leads to grisly discovery
Alvarez-Duenas, a single father of three who worked at Buffalo Phil's Wings restaurant, had been caring for a colleague's dog while she was out of the country. When she could not reach him by phone or text, she checked her home security cameras and saw a suspicious person on her back porch, prompting a welfare check. Brookwood police arrived and found Alvarez-Duenas deceased just inside the front door.
"Immediately upon opening the front door, there was a deceased male lying on the floor that was identified as the person that was house-sitting for her," said Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit. Investigators then searched the residence and discovered Bates, a Chicago native who also worked at Buffalo Phil's Wings, in a back bedroom closet. She was a business administration and management student, just five months away from graduation.
Suspect caught hiding in attic
De'Kendrick Crawford, 24, was arrested approximately 10 hours after the bodies were found. He was discovered hiding in the home's attic after a lengthy police operation. "After four hours of tactical operations including drones, tear gas, walls and doors being breached and attics being searched with K-9s, yeah, he never gave up. He cared more about himself than the victims," Kennedy stated.
Crawford was charged with capital murder of two or more persons, an offense that carries a sentence of death or life imprisonment in Alabama. The motive for the shooting remains unknown. "We don't know why he targeted them," Kennedy said. "They were not doing anything wrong. They had done nothing wrong to him. None of his acquaintances know why this occurred." The homeowner reportedly knew both victims and Crawford through work.
Victims remembered
Alvarez-Duenas's sister, Juana Gutierrez Salas, told WBMA: "He was always there for anyone however he could be. He was a charismatic light. He was so full of life and love." She added, "To know Felix was to love him! He wasn't easily forgettable. He had a passion for life. He was dependable, responsible, thoughtful, and fun to be around."
