A dog who didn't leave his owner's side as her dead body went up in flames helped police solve the case of her murder.
Mandy Rose Reynolds, 26, was found burning and "dead beyond recognition" on April 5, 2023, by police responding to a brush fire in Robinson, Texas, the McLennan County District Attorney's Office said in a news release.
Last week, her cousin, Derek Daigneault, 29, was sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing Reynolds.
When police arrived at the scene in April 2023, they found a white labradoodle who "barked frantically at officers and refused to leave the area of the body but also refused to allow police to capture it," according to the release.
The next day, a citizen found the dog sitting in the same spot where the body had been removed. They notified animal control who determined through microchipping that the deceased person was likely Reynolds and her dog's name is Titan.
Police went to Reynolds' home where all of her belongings were missing and the home was empty. Her car was also missing, prompting officials to run her vehicle information on a license plate database to find the car was in Wichita, Kansas.
"Mandy was from Idaho but had moved around quite a bit, living in Tennessee and Louisiana as well," Ryan Calvery of the McLennan County District Attorney's Office, told Newsweek on Thursday.
"Mandy had moved to San Marcos, Texas, a few months before her death to live near her best friend, who works as a property manager for an apartment complex there," he added.
Looking out for Reynolds' car, Wichita police spotted Daigneault in it on April 8, 2023, but he ran from police and hid behind the canned goods shelf at a grocery store where he was caught.
Investigators determined Reynolds was burned inside a large plastic storage container. They also found a fired shell casing inside the container.
Investigators found a handgun on the floorboard of Reynolds' car that matched shell casings at the scene where her body was burned. The medical examiner used Reynolds' dental records to determine that she died from a gunshot wound to the head from a bullet from the recovered handgun.
Walmart security footage from San Marcos, Texas, showed Daigneault purchased a plastic storage container, shovel, and gas can the day before Reynolds' body was discovered.
The footage also showed Daigneault leaving the store in Reynolds' car with Titan sticking his head out the window.
On April 7, 2023, San Marcos Police found all of Reynolds' personal belongings in an abandoned truck several miles from her home.
However, Reynolds' best friend, the apartment property manager, adopted Titian days after her death.
"He's doing great and came to the trial," Calvery told Newsweek.
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