Overview

• Mary Spears, 53, was found in her Arlington backyard with multiple stab wounds on Sept. 22 and later died at a hospital.
• Frederick Spears, 55, is charged with murder and remains in custody while recovering after stabbing himself as officers moved to arrest him in Grand Prairie.
• Law enforcement used tasers, less‑lethal rounds, and a K‑9 to subdue him on Sept. 23 before transporting him for medical care.
• Days earlier, he had been arrested on an aggravated assault–family violence charge, bonded out under an emergency protective order, and was then driven by Arlington officers to the home to retrieve a car.
• Police concede the transport should not have happened and launched a policy review, while the family cites disturbing texts and says it plans legal action against the department.