A woman accused of killing her 3-year-old daughter in Fort Worth nearly three decades ago has finally been caught. Maria Narez, now 48, was arrested last Saturday in Mexico, ending a fugitive run that stretched back to before her capital murder case ever reached a courtroom.
According to the Tarrant County DA, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office indicted Narez in 1999 for capital murder in connection with the 1996 death of her daughter, Kassandra White. Before the case could go to trial, Narez fled and remained a fugitive for decades, and the office says it never gave up on bringing her back to face the charge and answer for her daughter’s death.
Every Child Matters. pic.twitter.com/7i4nonlcZa
— Tarrant County DA (@TarrantCountyDA) August 10, 2026
The allegations against Narez date to November 17, 1996, when she was 19 years old. Archived local news reporting preserved by AMW Fans indicates the capital murder charge stems from claims that Narez threw Kassandra against a wall and a door after the toddler refused to go to sleep, resulting in fatal blunt force trauma.
Delayed Medical Care Preceded Kassandra’s Death
Those same archived records show Narez did not immediately take Kassandra to the hospital after the injury. The child reportedly began limping, vomiting, and losing consciousness in the time before she died at a local hospital, and Narez and her boyfriend allegedly attempted to revive the unconscious child with rubbing alcohol before eventually seeking emergency medical care, per the outlet’s reporting. Employment records cited in the same coverage indicate Narez had worked as a grocery checkout clerk in Fort Worth before her indictment and flight…