Two teenagers in Texas have been arrested and charged with tossing the clothes and deleting cell phone evidence after the accidental drowning death of their friend and swim team member.
18-year-old Daniel Erving and two of his friends jumped from a railway bridge into Lake Ray Hubbard in the eastern suburbs of Dallas.
Only Erving did not survive the jump. His body was discovered three days later and ruled an accidental death by the coroner.
Erving’s two friends, 19-year-old Lucas Roper and a 17-year-old juvenile suspect, have been charged with tampering with physical evidence after failing to report Erving’s death and disposing of his clothes and cell phone.
Tampering with physical evidence is a third-degree felony in Texas.
An arrest affidavit reviewed by ABC News claims that after Erving drowned, Roper and the juvenile fled the scene. In addition, Roper is accused of throwing Erving’s clothing into some trees near the bridge.
At Roper’s insistence, the juvenile threw Erving’s cellphone from their vehicle.
The affidavit states that Roper deleted messages from his deceased friend’s phone because he “was aware that there would be an investigation into Daniel Erving’s death and he did not want to get into trouble.”
Detectives report that when interviewed, Roper admitted to panicking after Erving’s death.
In addition to being a member of the swim team, Erving was also an honor roll student.
The case remains under investigation.
Hellbound and Down 