Texas Man’s Erratic Behavior Before Arrest for Wife’s Murder Revealed: Police

Chelsea Spillers, 33, was found dead in her Alvarado home on October 18, before her husband, Brandon Ashley, was arrested two days later and 180 miles away in Bedias. He’s since been extradited back to Johnson County, where he’s been charged with murder; his bond has been set at $1 million.

An arrest affidavit detailed by FOX 4 sheds more light on the timeline of events surrounding Spillers’ murder, with Alvarado Police first responding to a domestic disturbance at the couple’s home on October 17. When they arrived, Ashley “immediately put a handgun to his own head and threatened suicide,” wrote authorities, before he was talked into dropping the weapon, arrested and released the following morning on October 18.

Authorities returned to the home later that evening, after a call for a welfare check from one of Spillers’ friends. Per the friend, the two had another domestic dispute and nobody could get in contact with her. The friend, according to the docs, also claimed Ashley’s sister texted her saying her brother told her Spillers was dead and that her body could be found in the home’s den. When authorities arrived, they located her body where he allegedly said it would be, with what appeared to be a broken neck and bruising from strangulation.

Ashley was not at the house when police got to the scene.

Per the affidavit, Ashley also allegedly told his sister he and Spillers were fighting, before she “had a seizure and fell and hit her head,” though authorities don’t believe her injuries match up with that version of events.

On October 19, the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office said they received a “report of a white male trespassing at a residence” in Bedias, with the caller claiming the man was shirtless and “appeared to be experiencing a possible mental health episode.” Authorities also believed he possibly had a pistol in his possession, as other nearby residents claimed the man “had knocked on several doors earlier in the day asking for a shirt.” He also allegedly told one witness he was avoiding the highway because there were “too many cops” in the area.

The man — identified as Ashley — was apprehended on October 20 around 10:12 a.m. with a revolver discovered nearby. The Grimes County Sheriff’s Office then learned he was wanted out of Johnson County for homicide. He was transferred to Johnson County after a medical evaluation, where he remains now.

As the investigation continued, the Chief of Police for Alvarado Independent School District — the district which employed Spillers as a biology and chemistry teacher — also contacted investigators, reportedly claiming another employee received what FOX 4 described as “unsolicited sexually explicit” text messages and lingerie photos from Chelsea a little before 10:00 a.m. the morning her body was found. The message reportedly said she wanted to meet up with the coworker that morning, before she left her husband and took off for Houston.

The employee, however, insisted the two had a strictly professional relationship and had never interacted outside of work. Per the affidavit, investigators later discovered the number was Ashley’s, not Chelsea’s, with authorities believing he’s the one who sent the messages.

The coworker also claimed she recently showed up to work with a black eye, claiming she slipped in the bathroom.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages; Calls are confidential and toll-free.