Abigail Saldana.Photo: Facebook
On Tuesday, police in Fort Worth responded to a 911 call about an accident on Highway 183 and found a woman shot to death in her car, a spokesman for the Fort Worth Police Department tells PEOPLE in a statement.
The 911 caller said she saw a silver Hyundai sedan speed off an exit ramp and onto a grassy area before it hit a sign, say police.
“Upon arrival officers located a female victim inside of her vehicle with apparent gunshot wounds to her torso,” police say in the statement.
The woman was identified as Abigail Saldana, 22, of Fort Worth.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, say police.
During a subsequent investigation, police learned that Saldana had been “having issues recently with the suspect,” identified as Stanley Szeliga, 54, of Irving, say police.
Stanley Szeliga.Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office
Saldana worked as a dancer at Rick’s Cabaret, an exotic dancing establishment in Fort Worth, according to a redacted arrest warrant that was released Monday.
The employee showed detectives a post that Saldana had put on Instagram on Oct. 14, 2021, saying she’d “found a tracker that Stan had hidden on her car in an effort to follow her,” the arrest warrant says.
Saldana reported finding the tracker to police, her mother, Jessica Contreras said,WFAAreports.
The employee “indicated that Abigail was frightened of Stan because he was stalking and harassing her,” the arrest warrant says.
On Wednesday, a SWAT team served a search warrant at the suspect’s apartment in Irving.
They forced their way inside the apartment when he refused to come out.
“The suspect was located on a balcony of the residence and was found with several self-inflicted cut wounds on various parts of his body,” say police.
He was arrested and charged with murder, say police. He is being held at the Tarrant County Lon Evans Correction Center in Fort Worth on a $250,000 bond, online records show.
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It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf or if he has entered a plea.
As he awaits trial, Saldana’s family and friends are grappling with her death.
“She had a lot of love,” Contreras told WFAA about her daughter.
Contreras vows to seek justice for Abigail.
“He took her away from me,” she told WFAA. “I’m gonna make sure every time he has a court date, he will see my face there.
The investigation is ongoing.
source: people.com
