Man Arrested in Case of Missing Texas Woman
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ABC News(PLANO, Texas) — A 24-year-old Texas man was arrested Saturday on a kidnapping charge in the disappearance of Christina Morris, who was last seen in late August.
Enrique Arochi was charged with aggravated kidnapping, Plano, Texas, police said.
Plano police spokesman David Tilley told ABC News affiliate WFAA in Dallas that Arochi’s arrest was partly based on DNA samples taken during the investigation.
“The DNA evidence and the details that surround that… if we were able to release that, you would understand it more,” he said.
Arochi’s car was also towed from his house on Saturday, WFAA reported. He denied involvement in Morris’ disappearance in an interview last month.
“I feel they are wasting their time on me when they can be looking at somebody else that is actually the suspect or the person that actually did it,” he told WFAA.
“A lot of deception — on his part — that we believe was intentional and created problems with our investigation,” said Tilley.
A lawyer for Arochi declined comment about his client’s arrest. Bail was set at $1 million.
Morris, 23, was last seen on Aug. 30 in the parking garage of a shopping center in Plano. Surveillance video captured her walking with a friend at 4 a.m. after leaving a party, but she was never seen leaving the garage.
Investigators said there were no signs of foul play or a struggle near her car. Her last 15 phone calls went to her boyfriend, with whom she lives, but he never reported her missing, Morris’ parents said.
In the first weeks of the search, police said Morris’ bank accounts hadn’t been accessed and her cellphone was off.
Her mother told WFAA she long suspected Arochi knew something about her daughter’s disappearance.
“We have gut instincts as parents and as her friends that somehow he had some answers,” Jonni McElroy told WFAA.
While Morris hasn’t been seen since the summer, McElroy is hopeful.
“In my heart I feel like we are going to celebrate Christmas with her,” she said.
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