HOUSTON – A man suspected in the 2019 murder of a Houston woman whose body was found, with limbs amputated, in Louisiana has been arrested and charged, according to court records.
Carl Tates, 61, has been charged with murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Demetris Lincoln. He was arrested on Sept. 7 and booked into the Madison County, Mississippi Sheriff’s Office.
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Lincoln was reported missing after disappearing from her home in Harris County on Aug. 16, 2019, according to court records. Two days later, her body was found covered with a blanket in a shallow ditch in the 3000 block of Highway 10 in Washington, Louisiana.
An autopsy was conducted, and officials noted that her circulation was cut off around her throat and neck. Because of the body’s condition and tampering of the body, doctors were unable to determine her exact cause of death at that time.
Investigators said there was no sign of forced entry into Lincoln’s home and her cellphone was found inside. It was later discovered by investigators that Lincoln was in an “abusive and violent relationship” with Tate, according to documents.
Investigators learned that Lincoln filed several police reports with the Houston Police Department, alleging that Tates had threatened or assaulted her.
They found several text messages from Tates, with him telling her that if she ever left him, he would end her life and if he ever found her with another man, she would regret it.
Records also show that he has choked her in the past over cheating allegations and told her, “If he cannot have her then no one can or will.”
Investigators also searched Tates’ license plates on his 2007 Toyota Yaris and used a license plate reader to track his location. At the time of Lincoln’s disappearance, the tracker placed him near the location where her body was later discovered, according to court records.
On Nov. 7, 2019, Tates was interviewed by investigators where he stated that he did not know what happened to Lincoln, records show.
Investigators said he told them that he last contacted Lincoln on Aug. 16, 2019, and “downplayed” his relationship with Lincoln, claiming that he used her as a prostitute, and they were not in a consistent dating relationship. He also allegedly stated that he bought a new cellphone on Aug. 17, 2019, but kept the same number.
He reportedly told investigators that he lived in Mississippi but had never been to Louisiana. When the detectives asked him how he got to Mississippi, Tates stated that he just followed his GPS, so he might have driven through Louisiana but be wasn’t sure. He also confirmed with detectives that he drove a 2007 Toyota Yaris.
A DNA sample was taken from Tates through swab and sent to a lab for a review, according to court records. The lab report matched Tates’ DNA with the DNA that was found on the blanket draped over Lincoln’s body.
Detectives concluded through evidence and Tates’ interview that he killed Lincoln by strangulation or suffocation, according to court records. Investigators believe that he drove to Louisiana, cut off her limbs and right hand and dumped her body into the ditch.