The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office announced on February 7, 2025, that 31-year-old Joseph Albert Aparicio pled guilty to the 2023 murder of 19-year-old Janeecia "Nene" Mason of Bedford. He was sentenced to life in prison.
On March 23, 2023, Fort Worth police discovered Mason's body under the Precinct Line Road bridge, next to the Trinity River, near the Fort Worth-Hurst city border. She had suffered two gunshot wounds to the head before her body was dumped. Investigators determined Mason was not killed at the location where she was found. Markings in the dirt indicated she had been dragged from the road's edge.
Through witness statements, surveillance footage, and cell phone data, detectives identified Aparicio as the suspect. A witness reported seeing Mason enter a red Chevrolet Monte Carlo on March 23 around 9 p.m. with a Hispanic man. Surveillance footage later captured the vehicle in an industrial area of Dallas known for street prostitution, with Mason's cell phone pinging in the same area. A search of public records led investigators to Aparicio.
A swab taken from the Monte Carlo’s passenger seat tested positive for blood. Mason’s clothing and blood were later found in Aparicio’s Haltom City residence.
“Nene was very loved, and you didn’t think about that,” Mason’s mother told Aparicio after the sentencing. “We have made it through this by relying on each other and God.”
Prosecutors Bill Vassar and Allenna Bangs handled the case. The Tarrant County DA’s Office credited Detective Sones with the Fort Worth Police Department and the Carrollton Police Department for their investigative efforts.
DNA obtained in Mason’s case linked Aparicio to the 2022 murder of 29-year-old Chloe Darnell in Carrollton (Denton County). He received a concurrent life sentence for that offense. Investigators also connected Aparicio to a November 22, 2021, aggravated assault in Dallas, where he stabbed a woman, identified as Maria Judyann Brown, 13 times.
