The Parker County Sheriff's Office says a man wanted in connection with the death of a 72-year-old woman has been taken into custody in Mexico.
Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier said in a statement Wednesday morning that 73-year-old Clayton Ray Strong was arrested in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico on firearm charges.
“Mexican authorities eventually learned Strong had an active murder warrant and contacted my office," Authier said.
Authier's office asked for the public's help finding Strong in late August, nearly two weeks after 72-year-old Shirley Barrington Weatherley was found fatally shot in her front yard.
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The woman was found on Aug. 7 by family members who went to her Springtown home on the 6000 block of Midway Road after not hearing from her for several days.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Weatherley's cause and manner of death as a homicide by a gunshot wound to the chest.
The sheriff's office said early on in the investigation they obtained video footage from Eagle Pass where the suspect was seen disposing of a weapon in a department store parking lot on the same day the crime was discovered.
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The sheriff's office has not released a motive for the homicide or detailed any known relationship between Strong and Weatherley.
Strong was arrested in Mexico on charges of unlawful possession of weapons. Mexican authorities notified the Parker County Sheriff’s Office that Strong was positively identified at about 11 p.m. Tuesday.
“We are working with the state department and federal authorities as well as the Mexican government to extradite Strong back to Parker County to face the murder charge and prosecution,” said Authier in a statement.
A murder warrant for Strong will be served after he's extradited back to Parker County.
Authier thanked the Parker County Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (FAST), who he said worked daily to locate Strong, and to the Texas Rangers, Eagle Pass Sheriff’s Office, and Mexican authorities who were also vital in the investigation and apprehension.
