Dallas police focus on ex-girlfriend of man who dated slain dentist

DALLAS (AP) — The investigation into the killing of a pediatric dentist in Dallas is focusing on a woman who used to date the dentist’s boyfriend, police records indicate.

Arrest warrant affidavits show investigators believe the 33-year-old woman may have orchestrated the shooting last week of Kendra Hatcher, 35, in the parking garage of Hatcher’s apartment complex.

The ex-girlfriend was arrested over the weekend on traffic warrants and later released from the Dallas County jail. She has not been charged in Hatcher’s death.

Crystal Cortes, 23, was arrested Saturday and charged with capital murder. She’s accused of driving an unidentified man to the garage where he shot and robbed Hatcher, according police records.

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She’s being held in the county jail on a $500,000 bond. Online jail records do not indicate an attorney for Cortes to comment on the capital murder charge.

Investigators shortly after Hatcher’s Sept. 2 death released an image of a Jeep Cherokee believed to be linked to the incident. The owner contacted police to say he had lent the vehicle to the former girlfriend. The woman was questioned and said she, in turn, lent it to Cortes.

Authorities say Cortes implicated the woman when she was taken into custody. She told detectives the ex-girlfriend paid her $500 to drive the unidentified man to rob Hatcher, according to the affidavits.

A .40-caliber shell casing was found inside Hatcher’s car. Police seized items from Hatcher’s apartment and also the apartment of the ex-girlfriend.

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The boyfriend had dated the woman for about two years before his relationship with Hatcher began earlier this year.