The 44-year-old cold case murder of 81-year-old Virginia White was solved by Dallas police detectives with the use of new DNA technology that wasn’t available in the 1980s.
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New DNA testing that didn’t exist in the 80s helped Dallas police detectives solve the 44-year-old cold case murder of 81-year-old Virginia White.
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On Dec. 15, 1981, White was found dead in her West Dallas home. An autopsy revealed she was strangled and raped.
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The case went cold for several decades until detectives tested the old DNA in 2024 and got a match to 81-year-old Willie Lee Jones.
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Dallas police arrested Jones for a parole violation on Jan. 16. A week later, results came back confirming Jones was a DNA match with a probability of less than one in 10 trillion.
-
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New DNA testing that didn’t exist in the 80s helped Dallas police detectives solve the 44-year-old cold case murder of 81-year-old Virginia White.
-
On Dec. 15, 1981, White was found dead in her West Dallas home. An autopsy revealed she was strangled and raped.
-
The case went cold for several decades until detectives tested the old DNA in 2024 and got a match to 81-year-old Willie Lee Jones.
-
Dallas police arrested Jones for a parole violation on Jan. 16. A week later, results came back confirming Jones was a DNA match with a probability of less than one in 10 trillion.
DALLAS—In a 44-year-old murder case that had been unsolved, Dallas police have made an arrest.
Two investigators reopened cold case investigations with untested DNA samples, which led to the arrest.
The arrest affidavit states that at the time of this 1981 murder, DNA testing was not a recognized investigative technique. Therefore, up until recently, the sexual assault swabs in the case have never been examined.
We know:
The 83-year-old Willie Lee Jones is accused of killing someone when he was 40 years old.
An arrest document states that on December 15, 1981, Virginia White, age 81, was discovered dead at her West Dallas residence. Her daughter discovered that the screen door was unlatched and one of the doors was open.
White had been raped and strangled, according to an autopsy. Additionally, her $250 and wallet were gone.
Detectives were informed by White’s grandson that she was a widow when she passed away and had no romantic ties to his knowledge.
The case went cold and detectives received no useful tips.
A break in the case
Two Dallas police investigators made the decision to use a “DNAnexus” to look into cold case murders last May.
In White’s instance, swabs had never been examined. The combined DNA index system, or CODIS, was then updated with the forensic lab data.
The DNA profile was linked to Jones, a known criminal, on November 22, 2024.
On January 16, Dallas police detained Jones for violating his parole.
Jones denied knowing White and having anything to do with her death, according to the affidavit, stating that he “would never have sexual intercourse with a woman of that age.”
However, the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science verified on Friday that Jones had a less than one in ten trillion chance of matching the swabs’ DNA.
What is unknown to us:
We have not received a response from the Dallas Police Department regarding the number of other cold cases similar to this one that are being given another look.
Next steps:
Jones is accused with capital homicide. The Dallas County jail is where he is being detained. The amount of his bail has not yet been determined.
In this case, there is no scheduled court date.
The Origin:This article’s information is based on earlier FOX 4 stories and Willie Jones’ arrest affidavit.
