DNA evidence leads Dallas police to arrest in 40-year-old cold case
By S.E. Jenkins
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DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — Dallas police arrested an 83-year-old man in an over-40-year murder investigation. Willie Jones was arrested on Jan. 16 for a parole violation related to a sexual assault.
While in custody, a DNA sample was taken and has since been confirmed related to the murder of 81-year-old Virginia White on Dec. 15, 1981. White was found murdered in her home in the 4100 block of Furey Street.
The 1981 Dallas cold case White’s daughter, Evelyn Weathersby, told police she was concerned when her mother did not answer the phone, and so, went to check on her. Weathersby said the front door of her mother’s home was ajar and the front screen door was not latched.
According to the arrest warrant, White’s family members did not notice anything unusual when they first entered her home and officers initially believed she had died of natural causes; however, the Dallas County Medical Examiner reported markings on White’s neck that were “consistent with strangulation.” An autopsy ruled White’s death a homicide and determined she had been sexually assaulted.
Following the ME’s report, investigators returned to White’s home after it had been released and family members had searched the home for missing money, the report states. White’s family members reported her wallet and $250 missing. The report said White’s bedroom area was not processed for fingerprints because her family members had also removed bedding and searched drawers for missing items.
No arrests were made at the time, nor did investigators receive any tips of value and the case became inactive.
Reexamining old evidence with new DNA technology In May 2024, Dallas Homicide Detectives Andrea Isom and David Grubbs began investigating cold cases and discovered previously untested sexual assault swabs in White’s case. In 1981, DNA was not available as a known investigative tool.
Isom requested a DNA test and received a single unknown male DNA profile, which was entered into the Combined DNA Index System.
CODIS returned a match for the DNA profile in Nov. 2024, identifying Willie Jones, who was 40 at the time of the murder.
Detectives showed a photo of Jones to White’s grandson, who was present when White was found dead, the report states. He did not recognize Jones as someone White knew at the time of her death.
On Jan. 16 of this year, while under arrest for a parole violation, Jones consented to an interview, the report states. He denied knowing White or having any knowledge about her murder. Detectives obtained a warrant for and took a DNA sample from Jones to compare to the DNA profile that matched in 2024.
On Jan. 24, the DNA report confirmed Jones’s DNA was a match with “probabilities of less than 1 in 10 trillion.”
Jones has been charged with capital murder. The bond has not been set.
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