19-03-2025
Woman accused of murdering 70-year-old Wichita Falls man
Editor's note: This story contains graphic information that may be disturbing.
A New Mexico woman has been charged in connection with the murder of 70-year-old James Shierling on Oct. 26, 2022, in Wichita Falls, court records show.
Janea Ariona Aragon was being held Wednesday in Wichita County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, according to online jail records.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt.
Shierling was found dead in an apartment building in the 1300 block of 11th Street, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
He had moved to Wichita Falls from Georgia in 2019.
Police went to the building after other residents reported they had not seen Shierling for several days.
The affidavit said officers found the body of the victim wearing a bloody shirt and suffering an incision to one wrist. He was wedged between a table and a wall with a wheelchair nearby.
The affidavit also said investigators discovered the natural gas line to the apartment had been disconnected, and a lit cigarette had been placed nearby.
An autopsy confirmed Shierling had been stabbed to death.
A witness reported seeing Aragon sitting in a recliner in the victim's apartment the day after the murder, according to allegations in the affidavit.
Investigators also found Aragon's DNA in the victim's apartment and learned she had returned to Albuquerque the day after the homicide and was arrested in November 2022 on suspicion of stabbing another person, according to allegations in the affidavit.
Aragon was booked into the Wichita County Jail on Tuesday, according to online jail records.
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Woman accused of murdering 70-year-old Wichita Falls man
