53-Year-old David Rojas was arrested in Dallas on July 22, 2022 for the January 19, 1989 murder of 78-year-old Mary Hague Kelly in Dallas, Texas.
Kelly was found dead in her home in Oak Cliff by a relative who had come to check on her. She was naked from the waist down and her body had been shoved underneath a bed. She was found to have died by strangulation. The intruder had taken some of her belongings and her vehicle.
A DNA profile of the suspect was obtained when the case was reopened in 2004, but there were no hits in CODIS. The FGG investigation was conducted by Othram, beginning in November of 2021. The initial confirmation was made through surreptitious sampling of beer cans discarded by his half-brother. The funding for the investigation was provided by Season of Justice.
Rojas is facing a charge of capital murder in the death of Kelly in Dallas County Criminal Court. His half-brother lived next door to Kelly at the time of her death.
Sources:
Choi, Hojun. “Arrest Made in Murder Case from More than 3 Decades Ago.” Dallas Morning News, July 24, 2022. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2022/07/24/arrest-made-in-murder-case-from-more-than-3-decades-ago/.
Miller, Jax. “DNA Identifies Suspect in Elderly Texas Woman’s 1989 Strangulation Murder.” Oxygen, July 29, 2022. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/david-rojas-charged-capital-murder-mary-hague-kelly.
Pagones, Stephanie. “David Rojas Arrested in 1989 Cold Case Strangulation Murder in Texas.” New York Post, July 26, 2022. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://nypost.com/2022/07/26/david-rojas-arrested-in-1989-cold-case-strangulation-murder-in-texas/.
Vogen, Michael. “ .” DNASolves, July 28, 2022. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://dnasolves.com/articles/mary-hague-kelly/.