Fort Worth

Mother & Daughter Strangled to Death in Fort Worth; Suspect Arrested

A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a mother and daughter at a home in Fort Worth Friday afternoon, police say.

Otishae Womack and her 10-year-old daughter, Kamyria, were found strangled to death at a residence in the Verona Apartment community off Shady Lane Drive and Woodhaven Boulevard, about a half a mile north of Interstate 30, at about 12:30 p.m.

Police said a family member called 911.

Fort Worth PD
Paige Terrell Lawyer

Saturday, police said officers obtained a capital murder warrant for Paige Terrell Lawyer, 37. Fort Worth Police confirmed that Lawyer was arrested on Sunday at a home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

"It's a very fluid, active investigation but we do want to let the public know that this seems to be an isolated incident, there's no danger to the public at this time," said Fort Worth Police Spokesman Sgt. Chris Britt.

Detectives are actively following leads and say that the investigation is "progressing rapidly."

Neighbors told NBC 5 the child killed is approximately 10-years-old. They said Womack, 30, also had two younger sons who frequently played with other children in the apartment complex.

"My son played with them, like they were good friends and I just saw her, me and my husband, we just saw her yesterday," said neighbor Tisha Gonzales.

What Gonzales saw on Friday afternoon has left her shaken and saddened.

"We just heard her sister running down the stairs screaming, going my sister's gone, my niece is gone, they're dead," Gonzales said. "Everybody was out here, we were crying. It's sad just to hear that."

The two younger sons were in school at nearby Eastern Hills Elementary, a note sent home to parents Friday night said police came to secure the surviving children and everyone on campus.

Police say all other family members are safe.

The principal's note calls the murders "an off-campus domestic situation."

For those closest to the tragedy, it's hard to shake what happened so close to their doorstep.

"It's kinda devastating to me to hear something like this because I didn't know anything would go on over here in the Verona Apartments," said neighbor Hazel Hill.

NBC 5's Holley Ford contributed to this report.

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