Jim Skinner Sheriff at Collin County | Official website
District Attorney Greg Willis's office has successfully secured a life sentence for Jeffery Wheat, a serial rapist involved in multiple home invasions. The case was resolved through the use of forensic genetic genealogy, marking the first time this technology has been used to identify an offender in Collin County.
"This maximum sentence would not have been possible without the bravery of these four survivors, as well as the above and beyond cooperation and coordination of Plano, Coppell, Corinth, and Arlington police, and the Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant county district attorney offices," said Willis after sentencing. He further acknowledged that this was achieved using the same forensic DNA technology that solved the Golden State Killer case.
The initial incident occurred on April 2, 2011. Plano Police Department responded to a home invasion sexual assault where the victim managed to transfer her attacker's blood onto a pillowcase during her struggle. This evidence helped develop a suspect DNA profile.
Similar incidents followed in September and October 2011 in Coppell and Corinth. The unknown male profile matched with the suspect from the Plano case. Despite extensive efforts by law enforcement agencies over several years, including featuring on an FBI's America's Most Wanted episode, no immediate arrests were made.
In 2018, Arlington Police Department revisited unsolved cases with new DNA testing techniques. They discovered evidence from a 2003 case matching all three 2011 offenses. Detective Daniel Bryeans took charge of this cold case for Plano PD and worked alongside analyst Jane Clements over two years with genetic genealogy labs to narrow down suspects.
Their research led to Jeffery Wheat's arrest in Mississippi for Burglary of a Habitation with Intent to Commit Sex Assault. At his arrest time, Wheat was working as a long-haul truck driver but had lived in the DFW area during all offenses. Investigations revealed connections between Wheat and his victims through employment at a credit card processing company linked to their sorority.
Three survivors attended court on February 27th to give impact statements before Judge Angela Tucker imposed life imprisonment on Wheat. Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Calli Bailey and Dewey Mitchell prosecuted with Investigator Stephanie Strickland's support.
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