Teen left in Dallas creek was shot by man who showed ‘no emotion,’ affidavit says

The 16-year-old girl found dead last week in central Oak Cliff was dating the man police believe shot her multiple times before wrapping her in a blanket and dumping her body in a creek, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit.

Arturo Flores, 22, was booked into the Dallas County jail early Saturday on a murder charge in the death of Venus Rodriguez. His attorney, Bill Cox III, said Flores is presumed innocent and “looks forward to his day in court.”

About 10:15 a.m. on Jan. 16, officers were called to the 1700 block of Brookhaven Drive, near South Zang Boulevard and West Illinois Avenue, where they found a body wrapped in a blanket with a distinct blue and white pattern.

According to the affidavit, Rodriguez was identified the following day through fingerprint analysis, and when detectives interviewed her family, they learned Rodriguez was dating Flores, whom she reportedly ran away with in September.

Police continued to connect the couple through the blanket she was found in, with the affidavit stating that Rodriguez posted a photo on Instagram in December of a dog sitting on the same one. The affidavit said Flores was the only person who had access to the blanket, which was kept inside his house — located 354 feet from the creek.

Flores’ mother told police the couple had a history of frequent fighting, and according to the affidavit, a neighbor saw Flores chase Rodriguez down a street and physically assault her in a driveway in the weeks before her death.

When police interviewed Flores, the affidavit said he appeared “indifferent” and showed “no emotion” toward Rodriguez’s death, even telling detectives he knew only that she had been missing, not that she had been killed. Flores told police Rodriguez left the home Jan. 6.

“Interestingly, both the suspect’s parents were already aware that [Rodriguez] had been found murdered,” police wrote in the affidavit.

In searching Flores’ room, the affidavit said, police found blood had been cleaned off the walls and carpet, where a new air mattress had been set up. A neighbor told officers they saw Flores load a mattress into a truck and drive off on what they believed was Jan. 12, meaning Rodriguez could have been in the creek for days before she was found.

Police detailed in the affidavit that they are still trying to process numerous pieces of evidence, such as two phones and DNA swabs from Flores’ room, as well as two handguns found in the car of Flores’ brother, who was pulled over Saturday while leaving the home.

Flores remained in custody Tuesday, with bail set at $500,000.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Rodriguez’s family cover funeral expenses.