Cell phone data shows Zander Tashman, 18, in the area where the lifeless body of Elysse Suarez was found floating in a pond. He told police he knew nothing about her whereabouts seven minutes later, according to a search warrant filed by police.
A Texas college student allegedly drove his ex-girlfriend to a local park knowing she planned to kill herself and then lied to members of law enforcement about her whereabouts, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.
Zander Tashman, 18, has been charged with assisting in a suicide, a felony that carries a sentence of up to two years in prison if convicted. He is charged in connection with the death of Elysse Suarez, his ex-girlfriend whose body was found floating in a pond at a local park on Nov. 20, 2023. The medical examiner later ruled her death a suicide.
Earlier that same day, officers with the Elm Ridge Police Department (ERPD) were called to the home of Suarez by her parents, according to the arrest warrant obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Suarez had run away from home, said her parents, who also mentioned that the high school student struggled with depression, according to the warrant.
After speaking with the family, officers made multiple attempts to contact Tashman but he did not answer his phone, according to the warrant.
Officers with the Frisco Police Department (FPD) finally made contact with Tashman at his home around 1:54 a.m. to see if he had any information about Suarez or where she might be, according to the warrant.
Tashman told officers he had been sleeping after answering the door, and said he last spoke to Suarez “maybe like days ago,” according to the warrant.
Officers then searched the home after obtaining Tashman’s permission, but found no signs of Suarez, according to the warrant.
Eight hours later, FPD officers were dispatched to the Frisco Commons Park following a report of suspicious activity.
They arrived at 10:17 a.m. to find a lifeless body floating in a pond, according to the warrant. That individual was later identified as Elysse Suarez.
Officers again made contact with Tashman at his home shortly after 5 p.m. that evening, according to the warrant.
Tashman told officers that Suarez was his ex-girlfriend and reiterated that the two last spoke “like days ago,” according to the warrant.
When asked where Suarez lived, Tashman said “somewhere” in Aubrey and told officers he had not been to her home in “months or over a year,” according to the warrant.
Then, police claim Tashman’s story started to change.
He told officers that he had spoke to Suarez “last night” on Nov. 19, according to the warrant.
When asked why he would have told officers he had not spoken to Suarez in days, Tashman asked “did I say that?” and then told officers that he may have meant “off phone” since his recent communications with Suarez had been via text and messaging apps, according to the warrant.
Tashman also claimed to have called back the ERPD after missing multiple calls from the agency, and he told the FPD officers that he told the ERPD officers that the disappearance of Suarez could be “a suicide thing,” according to the warrant.
The teenager then agreed to an extraction of his cell phone, according to his warrant.
Officers started going through Tashman’s phone that same day, and the warrant alleges that they discovered he had searched the route from his home to the home where Suarez lived shortly after midnight.
At 1:27 a.m. Tashman allegedly searched for a route to Frisco Commons Park and between 1:41 a.m. and 1:47 a.m., a cell phone tower put him in that area of that park, according to the warrant.
Seven minutes later, at 1:54 a.m., FPD officers made contact with Tashman for the first time, which is when he allegedly said he did not know where Suarez was and had not spoken to her in days, according to the warrant.
A further investigation of Tashman’s cell allegedly revealed that he and Suarez had been texting about her desire and attempts to take her own life for at least a month, according to the warrant.
In one exchange, Suarez wrote to Tashman, “I’m gonna try one more and if it doesn’t work, I’ll ask my mom to take me to a hospital you have to make me call her or I won’t I’m sorry I keep asking you to do all of these f***** up things,” according to the warrant.
In a subsequent text, Suarez wrote, “I wish I would have just died,” to which Tashman responded, “I know,” according to the warrant.
On Nov. 14, Suarez allegedly wrote to Tashman about her latest plan to take her own life, according to the warrant.
Suarez invited Tashman to hang out with her on the night she planned to take her own life and told him about her plan to sneak out of her home, according to the warrant.
Suarez texted that the best option would be for Tashman to drive to about a block away from her house, at which point, she would leave to meet him at his car, according to the warrant.
At one point, Tasman allegedly texted, “OK also I really don’t wanna be selfish when it comes to this serious topic that you trust me enough to be part of but I can’t help, but worry about myself being in the situation and getting caught for helping you [do] this, so I’ll probably want to play it super safe in my favor,” according to the warrant.
Suarez later texted Tashman to say that he could tell police that he knew she planned to kill herself but knew nothing about the time and place she intended to take her own life, according to the warrant.
On Nov. 22, Tashman contacted police with new details about the night Suarez took her own life, according to the affidavit.
“The truth is that I was actually with her that night and she had told me everything she wanted to do,” Tashman allegedly told police, according to the warrant.
He also allegedly said that Suarez told him she “was going to do it no matter what” and that he wanted to “respect her wishes” and not “betray her,” according to the affidavit.
Tashman then allegedly told police that he drove Suarez to Frisco Commons Park on the night she took her life, according to the warrant.
He allegedly said he “couldn’t let her do it alone,” and told police she “left with a smile,” according to the affidavit.
The warrant also contains allegations about what police say was the final goodbye between Tashman and Suarez, during which time Tashman would have received or been receiving phone calls from both Suarez's sister and the ERPD as they searched for the high school student.
"Zander stated that when they got to the park, he parked in the parking lot, he gave her a hug goodbye, and she left. Zander stated he did not walk around the park and that he was in his vehicle," the affidavit said. "Zander stated Elysse told him to tell her family that she loved them and that she wanted her sister and friend to get along. Zander mentioned previous conversations with Elysse where she had mentioned letters to her family in a suitcase and give her clothes to her sister. Zander stated he came home and a little while after is when police came to his house. Zander stated that he should have told police, but he did not."
Reynie Tinajero, the attorney for Tashman and his family, said in a statement: “Zander and his family wish this horrible tragedy had never taken place either. I'm sorry authorities made a poor and probably emotional choice to blame Zander and to do so in a public way. We'll be making our case in a court of law. Zander is an exemplary college student with no prior history of criminal behavior. Zander is innocent.”
Tashman has not yet entered a plea.
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