Wikinews

Texas authorities announce manhunt after alleged murderer's ankle monitor found in fire

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Related articles
Crime and law
Crime and law
Collaborate!

The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office in Texas announced Monday they were searching for Trevor McEuen, 32, who is accused of murder. Authorities say he removed his court-ordered ankle monitor and fled from neighboring Van Zandt County at 5:33 a.m. CDT (1033 UTC) that day. Opening arguments in McEuen's 2023 murder trial were scheduled for early in the week, though sources differ on whether it was Monday or Tuesday.

Firefighters discovered McEuen was missing when they arrived to put out a barn fire on the property where McEuen had been staying while he awaited trial. Kaufman County Sheriff Bryan Beavers told the press he believed McEuen had set the fire:

"He did that, I guess thinking it would burn more than what it did," Beavers said. "When the fire department got there and got everything put out, that's when we found his ankle monitor, his cell phones, and stuff in there, and he wasn't in there." He later said that he believed McEuen had left the area.

United States Marshals are working with Texas law enforcement to apprehend McEuen, who had been released on a US$2 million bond. The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office has offered a US$10,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

McEuen is accused of having killed his neighbor, Aaron Martinez, 35. Martinez was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds in his truck in May 2023. According to Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA, the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office has stated that they do not consider the killing a hate crime. Both Martinez's family and Representative Joaquin Castro have asked prosecutors to file hate crime charges. Castro said at the time of the shooting "[t]hree weeks ago, Aaron Martinez was murdered in cold blood by a man who wanted to drive Hispanics out of Kaufman County."

McEuen was released on bail but later re-arrested in September 2024 after threatening Martinez's uncle on Instagram.


Sources

edit
 

Share this:           

Retrieved from "https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Texas_authorities_announce_manhunt_after_alleged_murderer%27s_ankle_monitor_found_in_fire&oldid=4856263"