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'She was my baby': Fort Worth police arrest man after woman's body found under bridge

Police said Janeecia Mason's body was found at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Police confirmed that a man has been arrested on a murder charge after a woman's body was found under a bridge in Fort Worth.

Joseph Aparicio, 29, remains in custody at the Tarrant County jail after his arrest Thursday, according to online records.

Aparicio's bond information was not yet listed.

On Monday, the department identified the victim as Janeecia "Nene" Mason.

Police said her body was found on March 23 at about 9 a.m. She was found under a bridge at 350 Precinct Line Road.

"She was just thrown like she was nothing, like she was nobody, and she was somebody. She was my baby," Janeecia's mom, Barbara Taylor, told WFAA.

Taylor said her daughter loved to do hair, makeup and nails, and graduated from high school last year. She was only 19 years old.

Taylor said her daughter will be laid to rest in Louisiana, where she was born.

"I loved Texas until…I feel like Texas, this place just swallowed up my baby," she cried.

"My daughter just being laid out in Fort Worth? I mean someone knows something. I want to get closure." Taylor said before the arrest was made in the case.

The affidavit

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by WFAA, Mason was believed to have been working in the area as a sex worker and had gotten into a red-colored vehicle that was believed to belong to the suspect, Aparicio, on March 17. 

The affidavit said that Mason's phone was pinged in various areas of Dallas. Surveillance video from these areas revealed a vehicle that matched the description of the vehicle Mason was seen getting into.

During the investigation, detectives were able to connect Aparicio to the vehicle seen in various surveillance videos. On the morning of March 21, police said that another vehicle that Aparicio owns was seen traveling in an area not too far from where Mason's body was found. 

During the execution of a search warrant, detectives said a swab of the red vehicle's passenger area tested positive for blood. Women's clothing that matched a description of what Mason was wearing when she went missing was also found in Aparicio's bedroom.

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