Midland County DA Comments on Suspicious Death of Teen Girl

MIDLAND, TX – The Midland County District Attorney’s office released a statement Thursday morning updating the public on the latest findings from an ongoing investigation into the death of 15-year-old Jasmine Melendez.

As previously reported, emergency medical services responded to the teen's house on the evening of October 20 after she was found by her family in their front yard severely beaten with major injuries.

Midland County District Attorney District Attorney Laura Nodolf noted that while detectives with the Midland Police Department initially found no foul play in Melendez' death, the investigation is still ongoing as investigators work to find out additional facts surrounding her death.

The following information was provided by the Midland County District Attorney's Office on Thursday, which gave five points of clarification on the current status of the case.

• First, Nodolf said that at this time there has been no connection found between the current investigation and any property belonging to MISD.
• A second remark states that the current investigation has ruled out the potential for multiple suspects, although it has not been revealed if the police have any suspects at this time.
• Nodolf went on to say the investigation has ruled out the possibility of Melendez' body being transported from any location via private vehicle prior to her body being found. She followed up her statement by noting the investigation found that Melendez was not thrown from a vehicle either.
• Finally, "contrary to previous statements attributed to family members of Ms. Melendez", the investigation has found that she was not dumped in a yard of a residence.
• The DA's office then went on to ask for additional privacy for the family mourning the loss of their teen-age daughter as the investigation continues.

Additionally, a second statement in conjunction with the DA's was released by Fortenberry Firm PLLC, who is currently representing the Melendez family, that states the parents of Jasmine Melendez are fully cooperating with the Midland Police Department and the Midland County District Attorney's Office during their investigation.

The release included the following statement from Mr. and Mrs. Melendez:

“We are heartbroken at the loss of our daughter and are searching for answers. We want justice for Jasmine. We are waiting for the medical professionals to complete their reports and allowing law enforcement time to thoroughly investigate the case. We want thank the community for their outpouring of love and support.” 

Nodolf says no further statements  or information will be released by the DA's office or the City of Midland at this time due to limitations from the Texas Family Code.