In a tragic turn of events, a man from Texas has been apprehended and charged with the murder of his wife, who was also his high school teacher. The incident unfolded late last week, drawing significant attention.

Authorities arrested Brandon Ashley on Sunday in Grimes County, situated approximately two and a half hours away from Alvarado, the town where the couple resided. It was there that the lifeless body of 33-year-old Chelsea Spillers was discovered on Saturday, a report from KXAS confirmed.

The sequence of events leading to this tragic outcome began when a neighbor alerted authorities on Thursday, suspecting domestic violence at the Ashley household. Upon arrival, Alvarado Police Assistant Chief Ben Moore stated that officers encountered Brandon Ashley holding a gun to his own head. He was subsequently arrested for interfering with official duties but was later released on bail posted by Spillers herself.

The situation escalated when police were summoned back to the residence on Saturday for a welfare check. It was during this visit that they discovered Spillers had been killed. Investigators pinpointed her time of death to be sometime before 5:30 p.m. that day.

Following a preliminary autopsy, which revealed that Spillers had succumbed to blunt force trauma, police swiftly issued a warrant for Ashley’s arrest, bringing a somber close to this heartbreaking case.

The following day, the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office got a call about a suspicious man trespassing at a home in Bedias, according to KDFW. He was said to be wearing black shorts and no shirt and was possibly carrying a pistol.

Multiple residents said the man had knocked on their doors earlier in the day asking for a shirt. He also reportedly told the residents he was avoiding a nearby highway because there were “too many cops.” Deputies combed the area but didn’t find him.

The next morning, a 911 call reported a suspicious vehicle on private property in the area, a black Cadillac Escalade that the call said was on pastureland and may have been stolen. An hour after that call, the sheriff’s office got a call about a suspicious man at a convience store. Deputies obtained surveillance video of the man, who came back to the convenience store about 15 minutes later and was arrested.

They identified him as Ashley, and he claimed to have hidden a firearm near the store, although he wouldn’t say where. Deputies later recovered it.

After his arrest in Grimes County, deputies learned he was wanted for murder in Johnson County. He is now in jail waiting to be returned to Alvarado.

Alvarado Independent School District said that Spillers taught biology and chemistry at Alvarado High School.

“She was a dedicated educator who loved her scholars and Alvarado ISD team,” the district said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and our entire Alvarado ISD family,” school officials said in a statement to the Alvarado ISD families.”