Boy, 13, and girlfriend, 12, charged in fatal shooting of Dallas-area woman; husband injured

Texas youths charged in woman’s shooting death

GARLAND, Texas — A 13-year-old boy and his 12-year-old girlfriend were charged Wednesday with murder and aggravated assault in a shooting that killed a suburban Dallas woman and critcally wounded her husband.

The boy and girl were arrested Tuesday shortly after the body of Darlene Nevil, 46, was found in her home in Garland, about 11 miles northeast of Dallas. Her husband, Alan Nevil, 48, was in critical condition Wednesday at Baylor University Medical Center, said spokeswoman Maria Carpenter.

Alan Nevil told police who shot him and his wife, but a motive had not been determined, said Garland police spokesman Joe Harn. The couple were shot in their home, but Alan Nevil managed to walk out the front door and go to a neighbor’s house for help, Harn said.

Harn declined to identify the children or reveal their relationship to the Nevils because they are minors.

Police recovered a handgun they believe was used in the attack and were trying to determine who owned the weapon, Harn said. The boy and girl were being held in the Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center, Harn said, adding that suspects must be at least 15 years old to be tried as an adult.

Jasmine Sepulveda, 14, lives across the street from the Nevils and said she also had been close friends with the 12-year-old girl until about five months ago when the girl began seeing the 13-year-old.

“She was a really cool person but when she hung out with him, her boyfriend, that’s when she got weird,” Jasmine said. “She didn’t want to talk to me anymore.”

Neighbors noted frequently seeing the girl and boy walking hand-in-hand in the neighborhood.

“I just thought they were two teenagers having a teenage relationship,” said Michelle Campbell, 39, who lives nearby. “This is a quiet street. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happens until yesterday.”

Neighbor Adiana Moreno, 22, said she’d also seen the sweethearts together but never imagined they could “hurt anyone.” Moreno said she was home when the shooting occurred.

“All I saw was the cops with rifles pointed at the house asking the person to come outside,” Moreno said. “But no one did. I guess they were gone.”

The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office said Darlene Nevil suffered gunshot wounds to the head and torso. Neighbor Juan Garcia Jr. said police and Alan Nevil’s adult son told him the man had been shot five times, and that a bullet remained lodged in his throat.

Garcia, 47, said he and Alan Nevil had been friends since they were adolescents.

“I can’t believe that this happened to them,” he said. “I can’t believe Darla is gone.”

Alan Nevil’s son, Alan Jr., and other relatives who arrived Wednesday at the Nevils’ modest brick home, where a “Neighborhood Crime Watch” sign was posted on a tree, declined to comment. The son hugged Garcia as he walked across the lawn. A woman who identified herself as Nevil’s daughter-in-law went to the house on the other side to greet a woman carrying trash bags to the front.

“Did you help my dad?” she asked. “Thank you so much.”