When that didn't work, she tried forcing her 13-year-old son to toss the body into a dumpster, according to authorities
Houston Police have charged 38-year-old Carmen Celisse White with the murder of her own sister, Cynthia Cervantes, 37 -- following nearly three months on the run after Cervantes' body was found shot and burned on April 1.
White, who was charged with capital murder, was arrested on Monday, June 27 in connection to her sister's death. According to police, Cervantes' body was first discovered in April after she was "shot multiple times before her body was set on fire." She had been dumped at an industrial metal work business.
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View StoryInvestigators say they honed in on White after her Chevrolet was caught on camera at the industrial complex. A family friend reportedly told authorities White had been acting "strange and odd" since her sister's death. She also allegedly attempted to trade in her vehicle, which she had bought in March, claiming it had a broken air conditioner. Police say blood was later found in the car.
According to witnesses, per PEOPLE, White was angry her sister called the cops on her earlier this year, leading to charges of making a terroristic threat to a family member and possession of a controlled substance.
The publication also states one witness -- White's ex-boyfriend -- told authorities she asked him for help disposing of Cervantes' body, which was inside an empty apartment below her own.
"She showed him a body and said that she needed help moving the body to her vehicle in exchange for sexual favors as payment," read the report. "[Witness] described the body as wrapped in a garbage bag, but he could clearly see that the person was deceased."
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View StoryWhen he didn't help her, White then allegedly turned to her own 13-year-old son for assistance. The teen told authorities his mother "instructed him to assist her in lifting a bagged unknown item from the dumpster area [of their apartment complex] and placing it in her trunk of her vehicle."
He reportedly said he "reached down and lifted what felt like human legs, so he dropped the legs back to the ground" -- and added that when he resisted helping her, she "became extremely aggressive," so he helped "out of fear for his safety."
She's due in court for a hearing today.