A man has been arrested on murder and evidence tampering charges following the death of his fiancée inside a Denton apartment.
On Monday, May 19, at approximately 1:23 p.m., Denton police officers responded to a welfare concern call at an apartment in the 5200 block of Par Drive. Inside the unit, officers discovered the body of 39-year-old LaVera Wardell.
Investigators determined that Wardell lived at the residence with her fiancé, 52-year-old William Joseph Oddo III. During the course of the investigation, detectives uncovered evidence that Oddo had purchased and used cleaning supplies in an attempt to tamper with the crime scene.
On Monday, June 2, detectives located Oddo at a motel in Mount Pleasant and arrested him on a felony warrant for tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. After interviewing Oddo, detectives obtained an additional arrest warrant for murder.
Oddo is currently being held at the City of Denton Jail. Bond has not yet been set.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet determined the official cause or manner of Wardell’s death.
The Denton Police Department credited the Mount Pleasant Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force for their assistance in the arrest.
