The Brief Karl Stanley, 55, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of his ex-girlfriend in her Celina home. Stanley broke in and choked the victim to death just one day after bonding out of jail for violating a trespass warning against her. Investigators recovered a  grudge list  in Stanley's car targeting the victim and agencies, along with a Halloween mask marked with words like  anger  and  shame. 



A Celina man will spend the rest of his life in prison without parole for stalking and killing his ex-girlfriend.

What we know:

Karl Stanley, 55, broke into the victim's home using a car jack. He attacked her with it, and ultimately choked her to death.

Prosecutors say he had a history of stalking the victim, and they found evidence there could have been more.

Bodycam video shows bloody scene, arrest

Dig deeper:

Bodycam video from November 2024 showed his arrest. Celina officers found Stanley inside his ex-girlfriend's home.

 Let me see your hands! Do not move!  an officer shouted.

Another officer discovered the victim's lifeless body just feet away, in a bathroom. She had been strangled to death.

Her blood was on Stanley's hands as he was placed in handcuffs.

 He was fairly calm,  said Cresta Garland, chief felony prosecutor with the Collin County District Attorney's Office.  He did not show any remorse. 


Months of escalating behavior

Big picture view:

Stanley was convicted of capital murder on Oct. 8 and sentenced to life in prison.

During the trial, prosecutors described months of escalating behavior, beginning after Stanley and his girlfriend broke up in May 2024.

 His jealousy became out of control. He began calling, texting, showing up at her home unannounced,  Garland said.

By November, the victim had made several police reports. On Nov. 23, officers arrested Stanley for violating a trespass warning. But that arrest did not end the danger.

 He bonded out of jail and the very next day he went and committed the crime of capital murder,  Garland said.

Prosecutors say Stanley attacked the victim with a car jack before strangling
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