Arlington police want to speak to boyfriend of woman found beaten to death

Arlington police are asking the public for help to find a man who they described as a person of interest in the killing of a woman found bludgeoned in a parking lot.

The body of 44-year-old Evila Yanes was found in the 400 block of North Cooper Street about 4 a.m. on Oct. 30. Her death was caused by blunt force injuries to the head, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Police want to speak to Yanes’ boyfriend, Jose Luis Moreno Castaneda, as part of the homicide investigation, they announced at a news conference Wednesday. He has not been named a suspect in her death.

Moreno Castaneda, 44, is on probation after he was convicted in a March 2021 attack against Yanes, in which he threw gasoline on her and physically assaulted her, police said. There is an active warrant for his arrest on a probation violation because he hasn’t communited with his probation officer about his current location.

Moreno Castaneda was the last person seen with Yanes before she died, police said. Surveillance video from a grocery store showed the two together hours before she was found dead.

On a GoFundMe page, Yanes’ family wrote, “She was a sweet, loving, caring, beautiful single mother who left behind 5 kids along with 2 grandchildren. She always looked at the good side of everyone around her. She devoted her life to her children and her grandchildren, they were everything to her and now they will never see her again. She was a mother as much as she was a father to them. She will be forever missed.”

Yanes was found next to a white Nissan Altima with temporary tags. Detectives believe she was either driving or riding in the car before her death.

Police said they have exhausted all leads in trying to find Moreno Castaneda and want to hear from anyone who knows his whereabouts or who has spoken to him since Oct. 29. He could still be in the Dallas-Fort Worth area or somewhere in Mexico, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Krystallyne Robinson at 817-459-5935. Tipsters can also remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County at 817-469-8477.

Robinson read a statement from Yanes’ family at the news conference.

“Evila Yanes was a kind and good mother who was taken far too soon,” her family said. “She did everything for her children. She has two grandkids who continue to ask about her. The days since her death have been very hard for us and will only get more difficult with the holidays approaching. We need justice. Please, if you have information, call Arlington police.”