An overlooked e-mail led to what
investigators say is a deadly
consequence as Austin police lok
into how investigators missed a
crucial lead that linked convicd
killer Raul Mesa to a 2019 murd.
They're now focusing on a communication
breakdown between a crime lab and police.
The Cave Defenders
have been tracking the investign
into the lapse that spanned 3
years and, according to police,
allowed Mesa to kill again.
Here's cave you senior.
Reporter Tony Plahetsky,
Brian and Quita. The misstep
in this case is one that
law enforcement officials
and victims advocates here in
Texas say has happened before.
But a new law passed this legislative
session will put new measures in
place to strengthen communicatin
between crime labs and police
to prevent a similar breakdown.
For the past six years,
Tracy Matheson has turned the pn
of the 2017 murder of her daugh,
Molly Jane Matheson, into advoc.
The 22 year old student at Tarrt
Community College in Fort Worths
found dead in her apartment after she
failed to show up for her parttime job.
That day is forever edged.
The killer, Reginald Kimbrough,
struck again just four days lat.
Murdering 36 year old Megan Get.
The cases drew attention because
of questions about whether polie
could have prevented each womans
death. It is my understanding it went to
an inbox that didn't belong to anyone.
41 days earlier, police in the DFW suburb
of Allen got an electronic notification
that Kimbrough was positively ld
by DNA to a sexual assault case.
But police did not arrest him. t
was not being monitored,
it was not received by whomever
should have received it,
And so it sat unread and Molly
was killed 41 days later.
What happened in that DFW case
bears similarities to the case
of rural Mesa and Austin.
Staff at the Texas Department of
Public Safety sent the Austin
Police Homicide Unit notificati.
On June 5th, 2020 that it had
found Mesa's DNA on the body
of 65 year old Gloria Lofton,
discovered dead in her home the prior year.
The Cave View Defenders have led
that Austin Police now believe a
lead investigator possibly missn
e-mail notification of the DNA t
linking evidence found at the ce
scene and Mesa's profile and the
national CODIS offender databas.
Police say Meso then went on to kill again.
He's now charged with the May murder of
80 year old Jesse Fraga, a friend with
whom he was living in Pflugervi.
Sonya Houston is Lofton's daugh.
A lot of people drop the ball,
but when is it going to stop?
When is it going to end?
It's just not making sense to m,
DPS officials say at the
time of Lofton's death.
Crime lab staff used either a phone call
or an e-mail to alert investiga,
a process filled with potential pitfalls
that lawmakers sought to fix this session.
Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne,
who represents the state Sherifs
Association at the Legislature,
urge lawmakers to pass the meas.
And many times, depending
upon the type of case it is,
it could be a cold case or an older case.
And that investigator has either promoted,
moved on, retired. Terminated.
And that e-mail falls on dead air, Dead Space
under the new Texas law,
which takes effect September 1s.
Labs must notify investigators
in writing within 30 days of
Quote any verified match that
identifies A suspect or offende.
The law also requires that
within five business days,
a law enforcement agency quote l
acknowledge receipt of the notification.
You could have a very active hot lead.
That could be preventing a crime
or stopping further crimes if
you were able to move forward.
Tracy Matheson took the proposal
to shore up communication gaps o
state Representative Craig Gold,
whose district includes her hom.
Goldman authored the legislatio.
When the code is it happens,
you need to follow the trail
and figure out how to get the
evidence so you can make the ca.
ADNA trail that police did
not follow fast enough before
her own daughter's murder.
Bringing grief, she hopes no
other family must ever endure,
We reached out to the Allen Pole
Department, which has never giva
full explanation of what happend
in Molly Jane Matheson's case.
In a statement,
the department acknowledged del,
quote due to case reassignment r
the intervening years, along with the
volume of active cases at that .
The Allen Police Department has since made
several improvements to case management.
Austin police have not said when
they may have a final report abt
the possible communication labst
delayed action in the Mesa case.
For the K View Defenders,
I'm Tony Plahetsky.