A Celina man killed his former girlfriend one day after bonding out of jail. Investigators later found her name at the top of a “grudge list” in his vehicle.
A Collin County jury convicted Karl Andrew Stanley, 55, of capital murder on October 8. Judge Richard Davis imposed life in prison without parole, the Collin County District Attorney’s Office announced.
A warrant two hours before the killing
The victim had reported Stanley’s harassment and stalking to Celina police beginning in early November 2024. Officers issued a criminal trespass warning barring him from her home and arrested him November 23 for violating it, prosecutors said.
Stanley bonded out the day before the November 25 killing, Cresta Garland, chief felony prosecutor with the district attorney’s office, told FOX 4, the station reported Friday.
“He bonded out of jail and the very next day he went and committed the crime of capital murder,” Garland said.
Detective Frank Alegre obtained a stalking arrest warrant for Stanley just two hours before the killing, according to his trial testimony detailed in the district attorney’s release.
A carpenter tried to stop the attack
A carpenter working at the woman’s Mustang Lakes home called police after Stanley broke in armed with a car jack and began striking her, prosecutors said.
The carpenter wrestled the car jack away from Stanley. Stanley then followed the woman inside and strangled her with his hands, the district attorney’s office said.
Responding officers found Stanley inside, feet from the victim’s body. DNA testing confirmed her blood on his hands, prosecutors said.
What investigators found
Police found the “grudge list” in Stanley’s vehicle with the victim’s name listed first, the district attorney’s office said. Other names and government agencies appeared below hers, FOX 4 reported.
Jurors also saw a white Halloween mask bearing the words “anger, disgust, shame and guilt,” the station reported. Stanley testified in his own defense.
“He did not show any remorse,” Garland told FOX 4.
Stanley pleaded not guilty. Jurors deliberated less than an hour before convicting him, the district attorney’s office said.
Related coverage: The Dallas Express also examined a separate North Texas case involving bond violations and a second murder allegation.
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