How Dallas police solved the rape and murder of an 81-year-old woman 4 decades later
DALLAS - Dallas police have made an arrest in a 44-year-old murder case that had gone cold.
The arrest was the result of two detectives reopening cold case investigations that had untested DNA samples.
According to the arrest affidavit, DNA testing was not a known investigative tool at the time of this murder in 1981. So the sexual assault swabs in the case had never been tested — until now.
What we know:
Willie Lee Jones, now 83 years old, is charged with a murder that police say he committed when he was 40.
According to an arrest affidavit, 81-year-old Virginia White was found dead at her home in West Dallas on Dec. 15, 1981. Her daughter found one of the doors was ajar and the screen door unlatched.

An autopsy revealed White had been strangled and raped. Her wallet and $250 were also missing.
White's grandson told detectives that she was a widow at the time of her death and, to his knowledge, did not have any romantic relationships.
Detectives did not receive any tips of value, and the case became cold.
A break in the case
Last May, two Dallas police detectives decided to investigate cold case murders with a "DNAnexus."
Swabs in White's case had never been tested. The forensic lab results were then entered into the combined DNA index system, or CODIS.
On Nov. 22, 2024, the DNA profile was matched to Jones, a known offender.

Dallas police arrested Jones for a parole violation on Jan. 16.
The affidavit says Jones denied knowing White and any involvement in her death, saying he "would never have sexual intercourse with a woman of that age."
But on Friday, the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science confirmed Jones was a DNA match to the swabs with a probability of less than one in 10 trillion.
What we don't know:
FOX 4 also asked the Dallas Police Department how many other cold cases like this one are getting a second look, but we have not heard back.
What's next:
Jones is facing charges of capital murder. He’s being held in the Dallas County jail. His bond amount has not yet been set.
No court date has been set in this case.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Willie Jones' arrest affidavit and previous FOX 4 reports.