Bedford police charge new suspect in elderly woman's death; first suspect released
BEDFORD, Texas - Bedford police announced they mistakenly arrested the wrong guy for the murder of an elderly woman in her home. But after new evidence came out, they believe they now have the right suspect.
79-year-old Christina Barsanti was killed after a man forced his way into her home.
Police said surveillance video showed a suspect, possibly wearing a wig at the time, ringing the doorbell to the home on Meadow View Lane and asking to use Barsanti's phone. When she refused, the suspect pushed his way into her home.
The video showed the suspect leaving several minutes later.
Barsanti's grandchildren discovered her body.
Police originally arrested, a 39-year-old from Euless, and charged him with the murder. He has since been released after all his charges were dropped.
On Thursday, police announced a new arrest: Aaron Pouchie, 26, of Montgomery, Alabama.
Pouchie and his vehicle were located in Jefferson Parrish, Louisiana, back on June 10 and taken into custody the next day for unrelated charges.
Pouchie has now been formally charged with Barsanti’s murder.
New details released Thursday reveal as detectives continued to investigate, they obtained a clearer image of the vehicle that left the scene. Police then tracked the vehicle information to Pouchie in Louisiana.
Bedford PD would not provide an on-camera interview Thursday or elaborate on any details regarding this second arrest.
FOX 4 spoke to Bedford Deputy Police Chief Bobby Lapenna back on June 10. We asked what evidence linked detectives to the man originally arrested. At that time, he said officers had confronted him about panhandling in the area on the day of the murder.
Aaron Pouchie
"We reviewed that Ring doorbell and were listening to the voice of the person and recognized it as being an individual they dealt with earlier that day," he said on June 10. "It was particular because it had a southern accent."
Now, police say Pouchie was the actual voice on the Ring doorbell video. But they won't say if they know why Barsanti was specifically targeted or why the suspect may have been in that area.
According to public records, Pouchie was released from an Alabama state prison back in January.
Bedford police did say the suspect’s vehicle was transported to North Texas so detectives can review that evidence as well.
The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office is now working to extradite Pouchie to Texas.