Police Solve 40-Year-Old Dallas Cold Case Using CODIS

The Dallas Police announced it charged a man with capital murder in connection to a 40-year-old cold case. Here are the details.

The department published a press release with the details of how the suspect was identified on Wednesday.

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According to the release, Ruby Battee was murdered and sexually assaulted by an unidentified suspect who "forcefully entered" her residence on May 27, 1986.

Police found some viable DNA on Battee's clothing, but concrete evidence could not be extracted at the time due to the limitations of forensic testing in the 1980s.

Then, in January 2025, Dallas homicide detectives submitted previously untested items to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for examination.

On April 13, detectives learned that a partial male DNA profile was developed and entered into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database. On May 5, they learned of a CODIS match from the DNA profile on Battee's clothing to a known offender named Marvin Lee Holloway.

Holloway was arrested in the late 1980s for the murder of his coworker and is incarcerated within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system. Detectives obtained a search warrant for a DNA sample from Holloway.

With this new evidence, detectives secured a murder warrant for Holloway, who is now being charged with capital murder.

"The Dallas Police Department houses some of the world's best detectives," said Chief Daniel C. Comeaux. "They are meticulous, patient, and leave no stone unturned when it comes to investigating cold cases—especially ones where hope seems lost."

He continued, "I hope this serves as a reminder to victims as well as criminals who believe they have gotten away with crimes. Justice will come."