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Farmers Branch Police Department

Police ask for witnesses to help

Light-colored sedan key to murder investigation

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Police are asking for the public’s help to solve a murder that happened in Farmers Branch Saturday, Aug. 24, morning.

The crime is being investigated as an abduction as well as murder as the victim, 33-year-old Nizuly Arneaud Petit of Dallas, and two teens were forcibly taken from an apartment complex on Fair Oaks Crossing in Dallas after a party around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

Lt. Terry Eoff of the Farmers Branch Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division said they were taken in Petit’s friend’s 2015 black Toyota 4Runner by three Hispanic men.

Two committed the abduction and one drove a sedan, Eoff told reporters at a press conference Aug. 27 at the Farmers Branch Justice Center.

Before arriving in Farmers Branch, the victim and teens were transferred into a light-colored four-door sedan. Police believe the transfer took place in a parking lot near West Centerville Road and I-635 in Garland.

Eoff said there weren’t many details available about the sedan.

“It could be white. It could be beige,” he said.

Two suspects drove the victims to the 1100 block of Valley View Lane, near the John F. Burke Nature Preserve, where Petit was removed from the car and shot.

The teens were released near the bridge at I-35E and Corporate Drive in Lewisville, where Lewisville Police Officers found them walking unharmed.

A passerby discovered Petit and reported the crime to police about 3:40 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24.

Petit died of a gunshot wound to the head.

The black Toyota 4Runner was found abandoned in the City of Greenville.

“We don’t believe this was random,” Eoff said. “We are actively looking at all the video.”

The Farmers Branch police are working with the Dallas Police Department as well as other agencies on this case.

Police ask you to contact them at (972) 919-1406 or via email at pdinfoandtips@farmersbranchtx.gov if you saw a light-colored sedan on Valley View Lane or on I-35E in Lewisville where the teens were dropped off on Saturday night.

Editor's Note: This article has been corrected to correct the spelling of the victim's name.