A Houston man has been indicted in connection with the murder of a woman from Houston back in 2019. Carl Tates, 63, is being charged with second-degree murder for the death of 44-year-old Demetris Lincoln. According to documents, both Tates and Lincoln are from Houston.
The victim’s family had reported her missing in August 2019 after not hearing from her for several days. They called for a welfare check, and when authorities arrived at her home, they found it empty with no signs of forced entry, but her cell phone was still there. The family informed the police that she was in an abusive and violent relationship with Tates.
Four hours away from Houston, a woman’s body in a state of decomposition was found in Louisiana in August 2019. Authorities were unable to identify the woman at the time. Later on, the victim was identified as Lincoln, although the official cause of death could not be determined due to the condition of her body.
Cell phone records and license plate readers indicated that Tates had traveled to Louisiana on the day the victim was last heard from. Tates was charged with murder in Harris County in 2022. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office did not provide information on the local charge that has been keeping Tates in jail for the past year and a half.
The St. Landry Parish District Attorney’s Office has recently indicted Tates for the murder of Demetris Lincoln. Tates will be extradited back to Louisiana to face this charge. In Texas, a conviction for murder carries a sentence of five to 99 years behind bars, while in Louisiana, second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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