Thomas Elvin Darnell, 75 Kansas City MO- arrested 1983 murder

[Tbone144]

I decided to start a thread instead of just linking Laura Purchase’s threads with this info. As her info is in Texas Killing Fields I hope it’s the right spot for it.


Arrest made in 1983 cold case murder in Montgomery County
Arrest made in 1983 cold case murder in Montgomery County

.On March 17, 1983, a deputy who was patrolling in the 4000 block of Interstate 45 near League Line Road investigated a fire burning in a wooded area east of his location, according to a release.

In October 2019, investigators sent the DNA evidence for genealogy testing, which showed Thomas Elvin Darnell, a 75-year-old male from Kansas City, Kansas, as a potential suspect, according to a release. A DNA search warrant for Darnell was obtained as a result of the investigation, according to a release.

Montgomery County Cold Case Detectives went to Kansas on March 17, 38 years later to the day, and collected a known DNA sample from Darnell.
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[dotr]

Arrest Made In Case Of Rape, Murder Of Laura Marie Purchase 38 Years Ago
''MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Thirty-eight-years later to the day, Montgomery County Cold Case Detectives collected DNA from the man now charged with raping, strangling and setting Laura Marie Purchase on fire — Thomas Darnell, 75.

Thomas Darnell, 75 (credit: Montgomery County Sheriff’s Dept.)

On April 30, 2021 that DNA sample was positively matched to Darnell’s DNA profile collected from Purchase’s body. A warrant for capital murder was issued in Montgomery County, and he was arrested at his home on May 11, 2021.''

 

[Deleted member 199554]

I imagine MCSO is aware and reviewing this but Laura Jean Donez (go to p. 7 of the MCSO Cold Case PDF) was killed a month after Laura Purchase. Like Purchase, Donez was from Houston and had been strangled and her body set on fire.

Murder of Laura Jean Donez April 18, 1983 – FM 149 7 miles north of Montgomery, Texas

SYNOPSIS: At approx. 1:00 pm, an oilfield worker observed a fire burning in a wooded area, near a logging road, approx. 400 yards west of FM 149. The dead body of an unidentified white female was found in the fire and MCSO Deputies were called. The fire had been set with what appeared to be a road flare and an autopsy revealed that she had been strangled. The victim was soon identified as Laura Jean Donez (16 yoa), who had last been seen walking away from her residence in the 3500 block of Raymond Street, Houston, Texas. Donez had reportedly left to buy a hamburger at a nearby restaurant.

FM 149 is roughly 15 miles from League Line Rd. in Conroe. This synopsis also mentions a road flare...has anyone been able to found out what Thomas Darnell did for a living? A flare sounds like something that would have been mandatory for a truck driver back then.

 

[Richard]

Case # 83-4835


Laura Marie Purchase

Murder of Laura Marie Purchase March 17, 1983 – I-45 at League Line Road, Conroe, Texas

SYNOPSIS: At approx. 3:00 am, an MCSO Patrol Deputy observed a fire burning just inside the woods along the northbound service road of I-45 at League Line Road. The dead body of an unidentified white female was found within the fire, which had recently been set. An autopsy determined that she had died from strangulation and the fire set with an accelerant.

Self-professed Serial Killer Henry Lee Lucas subsequently confessed to the crime, along with several others in Montgomery County, in 1983. Lucas had confessed to approx. 600 murders, with about 200 cleared across the United States.

In 1986, the victim was later positively identified as Laura Marie Purchase after fingerprints were matched. Purchase was last known to have been in Houston, Texas on March 5, 1983, living with a man named “Howard” or “Howie” who played in a band called “Malibu”.

Lucas died in prison in 2001, after his death sentence was commuted to life. Lucas had recanted his confessions and it is believed that he is not responsible for most of the crimes he confessed to.

UPDATE: In 2008, MCSO Cold Case Detectives submitted DNA for testing of semen from Purchase’s body, eliminating Lucas and his partner in crime, Otis Toole, from the DNA.

LINK:

https://www.mctxsheriff.org/Divisions/Criminal Investigative Division/UNSOLVEDcoldcase06102020.pdf

 

[Richard]

38 years is a long time. How many other victims are there of this predator?

 

[Kell1]

Sometimes theres only 1 murder, it depends on the situation at the time (situational factors) surrounding the offender at the time .

Child killers are much more likely to re-offend however

 

[Deleted member 199554]

Darnell has died in jail of natural causes according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office also posted it to their Facebook page.

 

[Richard]

Bumping thread up...