Sean Daredia, who represents Daniel Erving’s family, speaks next to Erving’s mother and aunt at a news conference on July 13, 2026.
Sally Avila Edwards
A Dallas County Grand Jury indicted a 19-year-old Thursday on a charge that he tampered with evidence related to the April drowning of a teenage swim team member in Lake Ray Hubbard.
The 19-year-old was one of two young men who went to the lake on April 13 with Daniel Erving, who drowned after jumping off a bridge. The teen was indicted for tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair after he allegedly threw out Erving’s phone, clothing and shoes as he fled the scene.
After disposing of Erving’s belongings, the 19- and 16-year-olds did not report the incident to authorities. Erving was not found until four days after the incident, according to an autopsy report from the Dallas County medical examiner. Both teenagers were arrested three weeks after Erving’s death.
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The June report from the medical examiner found that the Erving died from drowning, concluding that his death was an accident. According to the report, Erving surfaced only once after he jumped in, calling out for help before he disappeared below the surface.
Despite the report’s findings, Erving’s family is pushing for additional charges to be brought against both teenagers.
“My son will fight for me, and I am here to fight for him,” Erving’s mother, Tameka Irvin, said in a Thursday news conference. “I want justice.”
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The family previously requested the Dallas County district attorney’s office present the evidence in Erving’s death to a grand jury and pursue additional charges, including murder.
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Claire Crouch, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said the office cannot provide any updates to the case at this time.
Erving’s mother said police waited months to present charges — despite being told in April about the discarded of evidence, which immediately raised red flags in the family’s minds.
“Our family has gone through so much the past three months, waiting for the justice system to provide justice. I want justice for Daniel,” Irvin, previously said.
The Dallas Police Department said in a statement that officers recently met with Erving’s family to discuss the investigation and findings developed throughout this case.
“We remain committed to keeping the family informed and ensuring they could ask questions as the investigative and judicial processes move forward,” the police department said in the statement.
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Dallas police did not provide details on the conversation with the family to The Dallas Morning News due to the case still being an active investigation. The police department has also denied The News’ public information request for a copy of the incident report. Erving’s family did not address the conversation in Thursday’s news conference.
The family is represented by Dallas-based attorneys Sean Daredia and Ben Crump. Crump is also representing the family of Mississippi native Nolan Wells, who died on July 4 during a boat trip in the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Wells, 18, died under similar circumstances as Erving, Crump said. Wells was on a boat with friends. His friends returned, but Wells did not. He was reported missing, and his body was found two days later.
Irvin and Daredia spoke alongside the Erving family at the Thursday news conference. Erving’s mother and her attorney questioned Erving’s autopsy.
“He was on the swim team; the story he drowned does not add up,” Daredia said.
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Erving said he was going to hang out with friends the day he went missing, his mother said at the news conference. When Erving didn’t return home, his mother said she reported him missing by noon the next day.
“I didn’t get any information on where my son was,” Erving’s mother said at the news conference. “I had to do the research, the investigating.”
The family’s attorneys said if the Dallas County district attorney presents the evidence to a grand jury, the family will call for an independent investigation into Erving’s death by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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