Jailed Murdered Tied to More Murders
cro...@earthlink.net
Jailed Round Rock killer again a suspect
Fain, convicted of 1994 killing of Austin woman, is linked by DNA to
Arlington slaying, police say.
By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, January 05, 2006
A Round Rock man sentenced to life in prison in 1995 for murdering Austin
advertising executive Sandra Dumont and dumping her body in a cow pasture
has been linked through DNA evidence to the unsolved 1987 death of a North
Texas woman.
Roger Fain, 51, who remains locked up, was charged Tuesday with capital
murder in the death of 41-year-old Linda Sue Donahew, who was found naked,
stabbed and strangled in her Arlington home on June 1, 1987.
She had been sexually assaulted, and investigators took a swab of semen from
her body after the slaying but could not develop a DNA profile from it,
Arlington police said. Cold case detectives reopened the case in August and
used advanced technology to obtain a DNA profile, which they ran against a
database of known offenders and linked to Fain.
They learned that Fain lived in Dallas at the time, that he drove a white
1976 Ford pickup that matched one seen near Donahew's house when she was
killed and that he resembled a composite sketch of a person seen with
Donahew before she was killed, according to Arlington police.
Arlington detectives spoke with Round Rock investigators and found
similarities among the deaths of Dumont, 39, Donahew and Darlene Anderson,
38, of Round Rock.
Fain was never charged with Anderson's death because there wasn't enough
evidence, but prosecutors have said that he remains the prime suspect.
Anderson disappeared around the same time Dumont did, and her body was found
in the same pasture off Louis Henna Boulevard.
The women were all attractive, all knew Fain and each had part or all of
their clothing cut from their bodies, said Arlington police spokeswoman
Christy Gilfour.
The June 1994 disappearance of Anderson, a mother of two, touched off a wave
of fear in Round Rock. Her car was found in her driveway and her purse and
credit cards were inside her home.
Friends, relatives and neighbors organized mass searches of open fields
nearby. Fain, a handyman who at one time had dated Dumont, joined in a
search and touched off police suspicions with his inquisitiveness.
"Darlene Anderson's disappearance had a profound impact (on the community).
She's the kind of person you live next door to and I live next door to,"
said state District Judge Mike Jergins, who as an assistant district
attorney in Williamson County won the conviction against Fain in Dumont's
case.
Dumont, who was last seen leaving a part-time job as a card dealer at a
Sixth Street nightclub, was reported missing in August 1994. The bodies were
found days later.
"When they arrested him they pre-empted Oprah and went live with the arrest
story," Jergins said. "It was a big deal."
The trial was moved to Tyler because of publicity about Fain, who had a
history of crimes against women dating to age 16.
Prosecutors presented a circumstantial case with no witnesses or
fingerprints, no murder weapon or confession. Fain maintained his innocence.
Among other evidence, jurors learned that Dumont's jaw was broken and that
Fain had surgery for a broken hand around that time. Prosecutors also
presented undeveloped pictures found in Fain's home taken of the field where
the bodies were found.
After what jurors termed 12 stressful hours of deliberations, they returned
a guilty verdict.
Fain is incarcerated at the Eastham Unit in Lovelady, about 175 miles
northeast of Austin. He will not be eligible for parole until 2024.
Arlington police say Tarrant County prosecutors will pursue the capital
charges against Fain, which could lead to a death sentence.
Threnody
> DNA strikes again!
>
> Jailed Round Rock killer again a suspect
> Fain, convicted of 1994 killing of Austin woman, is linked by DNA
> to Arlington slaying, police say.
> By Steven Kreytak
> AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
> Thursday, January 05, 2006
I read this a little bit ago online. I couldn't help but give a little
cheer that there was a match. The handful of cops and investigators I
know or have read about have mentioned some of these cases a few times
and it seemed to really impact the department's morale. It was enough
of a shock to consider there might be some sort of serial killer
around, since the MOs matched, but in Round Rock? Holy cats.
*NOTHING* happens in Round Rock, y'know? The worst thing the RRkians
do is get a little drunk on vesting day over on the Dell campus. A
couple calls about disorderlies at the local pub and everyone comes
away smiling at the end of it.
Well, except for the stabbing death of that one more poor mother that
still isn't solved. That one still freaks even me out. Too close to
home.
--
Threnody :: dov...@yahoo.com
cro...@earthlink.net
focussing on the husband...it turned out it was a guy named, get this,
Moore, but no relation to the victim. He's in jail, awaiting trial. Or are
you thinking of another?
"Threnody" <dov...@austin.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9742C65668514d...@24.93.43.119...
Threnody
> who are you thinking of? Mrs. Moore? the one where the cops
> seemed to be focussing on the husband...it turned out it was a guy
> named, get this, Moore, but no relation to the victim. He's in
> jail, awaiting trial. Or are you thinking of another?
Not Moore, although that was an interesting one as well. That was the
pregnant woman who was stabbed in her home, and ended up being the
first real case of the Prenatal Protection Act being applied in TX. I
followed that one specifically because of the PPA aspect.
I cannot remember the name of the victim now, but in North Austin and
Round Rock there were shopfront posters all over the place of the
victim's face and name and a request for public assistance on behalf of
the police (or perhaps the Williamson County officers). I just tried
to do a web search and got a lot of gobbledygook. *flail*
--
Threnody :: dov...@yahoo.com