GALVESTON, TX – A 17-year-old Texas girl, previously the focus of an Amber Alert, has been indicted on a capital murder charge in relation to the death of a 21-year-old man. The Dallas County grand jury handed down the indictment against Natalie Navarro this week. Navarro allegedly killed Arturo Pena by shooting him during an attempted robbery on August 27, according to the indictment.
Investigators assert that Navarro and Pena met online. Navarro and an accomplice, 21-year-old Yordy Martinez, were intending to rob Pena, according to the Garland Police Department. Navarro claimed to the police she had communicated with Martinez online before the night of Pena’s murder but had never met him in person.
Regarding Navarro’s claim, Garland Police Department spokesperson Richard Maldonado stated that while Navarro has claimed to have only interacted with Martinez once online, the law enforcement has reason to believe that she might not be entirely truthful.
Authorities believe that Navarro and Pena had an in-person meeting two weeks before the shooting, which they suspect being an attempt to set the victim up. At the end of August, Garland Police responded to a report of a person passed out in a vehicle at 342 West Oates Road. Upon arrival, they found the man—later identified as Pena—to have been fatally shot.
The day before the discovery of Pena’s body, he had been reported missing. Garland detectives identified Navarro and Martinez as persons of interest in Pena’s death on September 1.
Law enforcement later found Navarro near the Mexican border and took her into custody after issuing an Amber Alert for her. Efforts continue to locate Martinez. Garland Police Department is appealing to anyone with information about the incident to come forward.