Man faces murder charge in July killing of 20-year-old North Texas woman

A 53-year-old man was arrested Friday in connection with the July slaying of a Denton woman, according to a police news release.

Denton police detectives obtained an arrest warrant Friday for Michael Tooley on a murder charge. He is being held at the Denton County jail.

His arrest comes about three weeks after 20-year-old Dylan Gurley was killed.

On the evening of July 23, police responded to a call about an unconscious person at an abandoned house in the 3700 block of Holland Lane. Gurley was found with traumatic injuries, police said at the time. Gurley was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

She died of blunt and sharp force injuries with strangulation, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Detectives learned Tooley and Gurley were staying at the abandoned home, the release stated. According to witness interviews, Tooley was upset on July 23 about money he was reportedly missing.

Tooley also spoke to witnesses about hurting or killing the next person he believed stole from him, according to police. Witnesses also reported disturbances between Tooley and the victim.

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The suspect was with the 911 caller who found Gurley unresponsive, but fled the area before officers arrived, according to police.

In an interview with detectives, Tooley confirmed that he and Gurley had a history of altercations, but denied his involvement in her death, police said.

Investigators reviewed Tooley’s jail phone conversations and said the recordings revealed he had made several comments implicating himself in Gurley’s death.

Detectives collected additional evidence that confirmed Tooley and Gurley were in the same area during the time of her killing, according to the release.

A GoFundMe was organized to help pay Gurley’s funeral and memorial expenses.

“I am coming here today to ask for any help we can get to give Dylan the memorial she wanted and deserved. ... We are just trying to put the pieces back together as best as we can and appreciate any and all help,” Gurley’s sister Senica Ciarallo wrote in the GoFundMe information.

Gurley’s mother, Erin Mendiola, said her family believes the killing was a hate crime, KXAS-TV reported.

Dylan Gurley identified as a transgender woman, Mendiola told KXAS.

“It’s just senseless, the rage behind it, and the anger behind it,” Mendiola told KXAS. “I just wish that things could be different, that she would have a chance to live her life.”

A memorial service was scheduled for Gurley at the Little Elm Rec Center at noon on Saturday.