A small North Texas community is in shock after the death of a beloved high school teacher whose husband was later found wandering shirtless, knocking on strangers’ doors 150 miles away.

Initially Her Death Was Unexplained

Chelsea Spillers, 33, was discovered dead inside her Alvarado home on Saturday, Oct. 18. Police described her death as “unexplained” at first, but investigators now say she suffered blunt force trauma. A warrant for murder has been issued for her husband, Brandon Ashley, according to the Alvarado Police Department.

Spillers Was Important To Her Students

Spillers was a biology and chemistry teacher at Alvarado High School, where she had become something of a fixture — the kind of teacher students sought out long after the bell rang. The Alvarado Independent School District called her a “dedicated educator who loved her scholars and Alvarado ISD team,” a sentiment echoed by dozens of students and colleagues mourning her loss. “I would go to her class. After every class period, I would go see her,” said Ava Kelly, a junior at the school. “She was the light of my day.” Former student McKayla Norris told FOX 4 News that Spillers left an imprint on everyone she taught. “I feel like though she’s gone, she lives on,” she said. “She lives on through all of her students she touched.”

Her Husband Was Arrested Days After Her Death

Police believe Spillers died sometime before Saturday evening, when she was found inside the couple’s home in Alvarado, a town of roughly 6,000 people just south of Fort Worth. The Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released an official cause of death, but investigators said signs of blunt force trauma were clear. Two days later, Ashley, 35, was arrested in Grimes County — about 150 miles south — after a string of bizarre encounters reported by residents.

“Too Many Cops”

The Grimes County Sheriff’s Office said calls began coming in Sunday morning about a shirtless man trespassing on private property near the town of Bedias. Witnesses said the man appeared disoriented, knocking on doors and asking for a shirt. Deputies found Ashley Monday morning, still in the area. He allegedly told authorities he was avoiding the nearby highway because there were “too many cops.” When officers detained him, Ashley reportedly mentioned a firearm he’d hidden nearby but refused to say where. Deputies later found a revolver close to the arrest site, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators have not said whether that weapon was used in Spillers’ killing.

Spillers Gave Everything To Her Students

As the legal process unfolds, Alvarado is left trying to make sense of the loss of someone who, by every account, gave everything she had to her students. Grief counselors have been made available on campus, and students have begun leaving flowers and handwritten notes outside Spillers’ classroom door. “She believed in every one of us,” another student said outside the school this week. “She made science make sense. She made life make sense.”