Dallas Police Make Arrest In 38 Year Old Capital Murder Cold Case
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - On February 18, a 60-year-old Dallas man was arrested and charged with the 1984 capital murder of Mary Jane Thompson, a case that had gone cold for decades.
Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot announced that the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, in collaboration with the Dallas Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, arrested Edward Morgan for the 1984 capital murder of Mary Jane Thompson.
Nearly 38 years ago to the day, Thompson, 21, was found dead behind a Dallas warehouse on Irving Boulevard. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered on Feb. 13, 1984. Her assailant has remained at large ever since.
In 2009, DNA technology had advanced far enough that Dallas Police reopened the case. Testing was completed on swabs from the autopsy, and an unknown male DNA profile was identified but never matched to a specific suspect. The case went cold again.
In 2018, Dallas Police Cold Case Homicide Detective Noe Camacho reopened the case and worked with the Dallas County DA Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) team on new types of forensic testing techniques. In 2020, the FBI joined the investigation task force.
The case was submitted for forensic genetic genealogy analysis (FGG), the same technology used to catch The Golden State Killer. Through FGG, Morgan of Dallas was identified as the suspect. This week, DNA testing confirmed he matched the unidentified profile from the swab taken in the 1984 autopsy.
Edward Morgan faces one count of capital murder and is being held in the Dallas County Jail.
"This case is yet another example of the incredible collaborative effort between the Dallas Police Department, the FBI, and the District Attorney's SAKI Cold Case team. Working together, we continue to solve the most difficult cold cases that Dallas has ever seen," said Dallas County Assistant District Attorney and SAKI Chief Leighton D'Antoni. "I look forward to working with all our local law enforcement agencies to utilize the advancements in forensic testing techniques to identify, arrest, and prosecute the most dangerous predators hiding among us. We never, ever forget about these cases, our victims, and their families."
Assistant District Attorney Leighton D'Antoni, who worked on the case, thanked law enforcement agents and investigators for their hard work.
"I especially want to highlight the fantastic work done by the FBI Dallas Violent Crimes Task Force and Dallas Police Department Detective Noe Camacho. They both spent countless hours over multiple years working diligently on what, at times, seemed like an impossible case to solve. It is not every day we are able to solve a 38-year-old cold case capital murder. It takes a singular dedication and authentic commitment to justice to see it through. The people of Dallas are very lucky to have them helping to protect our community," D'Antoni said.
The Dallas County District Attorney's Office thanked D'Antoni, Investigators Tammy Goodman and Jon Wakefield, DPD Detective Noe Camacho, the FBI Dallas Violent Crimes Task Force, and the DPD CRT Team for their work as well.