Police make arrest in West El Paso murder

El Paso police have made an arrest in the slaying of a woman whose body was found Monday in an apartment.

Police arrested Darrin Yeager, 32, late Friday on suspicion of killing 51-year-old Dawn Denise Weatherly.

Detectives learned that Yeager and Weatherly were acquaintances who had ongoing hostility toward each other. On New Year’s eve, the two met at Weatherly’s apartment where a fight occurred.

The victim was found dead just after 5 p.m. Monday in a West El Paso apartment unit at 5890 Bandolero.

Westside Regional Command officers responded to a stabbing call. Friends of the Weatherly, went to check up on her after not hearing from her. They found Weatherly dead with what appeared to be stab wounds.

Police clarified Tuesday an investigation by detectives and the medical examiner’s office revealed the victim had not been stabbed. Police did not say how the woman was killed.

The official cause of death is still pending determination by the medical examiner’s office.

On Sunday, a tipped over couch blocked the front door of Weatherly’s apartment where police say she was killed. There was also still evidence tape on the outside window. Neighbors describe Weatherly as calm, sweet and kind. One neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified, tells ABC-7 he saw no hostility between the two women, but said Yeager told him she suffered from mental illness.

“She had a problem and I know she told me herself, she was bipolar. So I’m thinking it was only a bad accident. Maybe they did argue but her sickness really turned on her,” he said.

Yeager was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a $1 million bond.