Victim's Labradoodle Led Police to Crime Scene, Killer Who Shot Her & Burned Remains: DA

The dog, named Titan, was called "heroic," "loyal," and the "keys" to the case after authorities said he "refused to leave" the site where his owner was allegedly murdered and burned by her cousin, which helped authorities find the woman's killer.

A man has been sentenced to prison for killing his cousin in Texas -- and his arrest was due large in part to the victim's dog after the microchipped Labradoodle led authorities to her burned remains, and ultimately, the murderer's identity.

According to a press release shared by the McLennan County District Attorney's Office, Derek Daigneault, 29, of Wichita, Kansas was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for the murder of his cousin, Mandy Reynolds, 26, whose body was found burning in a field in Robinson, Texas in April 2023.

Winona County Detention Center/Winona Police Department/Instagram

"Like I told the jury, if they knew nothing else about Derek Daigneault other than what he did to Mandy Rose Reynolds -- shooting her in the head, driving her body here to McLennan County and setting her on fire like a piece of trash -- if that’s all they knew about him, that alone would have been enough to justify a life sentence," McLennan County assistant district attorney, Ryan Calvert, said in a statement after the trial, according to local CBS affiliate, KWTX.

"But once we got into the punishment phase, the jury learned he had been in trouble his whole life, he was a multiple-time convicted felon, he had been in prison in Kansas before for violent offenses, they even learned he had shot another individual as a juvenile," he added of Daigneault. "He is just an extremely violent individual, and he cannot be trusted with the safety of this or any other community. So life, we felt, was the only just verdict."

In April 2023, Robinson police found a dead body on fire "burned beyond recognition" while responding to a report of a "brush fire" on Heston Circle, as noted in the McLennan County District Attorney's Office press release on Friday.

Authorities said they saw a white dog near the scene.

Gregg County Jail/Gregg County Sheriff’s Office

"Nearby was a white dog which barked frantically at officers and refused to leave the area of the body, but also refused to allow police to capture it," the press release read. "The following morning, after the body had been moved, a citizen found the dog sitting at the spot the burning body had been the night before."

"That citizen notified Robinson Animal Control, which then discovered that the dog, named Titan, was microchipped and belonged to Mandy Rose Reynolds," the release continued.

Police said they suspected the body was Reynolds', which led authorities to her apartment in San Marcos, which they discovered to be "completely empty, with all of her possessions removed," and her car, a black Honda Accord, was nowhere to be found."

According to the McLennan County District Attorney's Office, police tracked Reynolds' Honda to Wichita, Kansas. Wichita police found Reynolds' vehicle and tried to pull it over, which reportedly led to a high-speed car chase and the driver crashing into another vehicle, before fleeing the scene.

Police captured and arrested the man, who was identified as Daigneault, Reynolds' cousin, per the release. Inside the vehicle, authorities found a handgun in the driver's seat.

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The medical examiner identified Reynolds' body by using dental records, per the release. According to the autopsy, it was discovered that Reynolds' cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Police said her body was found inside a burned large plastic storage container. A bullet found at the crime scene matched the handgun found in Daigneault's -- Reynolds' -- Honda.

As noted in the press release, San Marcos Police found surveillance footage from a Walmart that showed Daigneault buying a "large plastic storage container identical to the one Reynolds' body was burned in, a shovel, and a gas can." The video also reportedly showed him driving away from the store with Titan "sticking his head out the car's window."

Police also later found the belongings missing from Reynolds' apartment in the trunk of an abandoned truck, per the release.

"The keys to this case were a heroic and loyal dog named Titan and extraordinary cooperation between law enforcement agencies in multiple jurisdictions and states. That combination has delivered justice for Mandy and safety from a violent and dangerous criminal," Calvert and ADA Alyssa Killin said in a statement noted in the press release.

Delaware County Sheriff's Office

Daigneault is a nine-time convicted felon, per KWTX. The outlet reported that Reynolds' family and Daigneault got into a fight during the latter's sentencing.

Per the outlet, Reynolds' mother, older brother, and stepfather gave victim impact statements. According to KWTX, when Reynolds' brother was speaking on the witness stand, Daigneault yelled across the courtroom and accused his cousin of a crime. Although the judge reportedly intervened and told Daigneault not to speak, he allegedly did not listen and kept yelling at Reynolds' brother, promoting Daigneault to be escorted out of the courtroom.

After he left the courtroom, Daigneault's family members -- including his brother-in-law-, mother and sister -- got into a confrontation with Reynolds' family, with Daigneault's brother-in-law ultimately being put in handcuffs after he punched one of Reynolds' relatives on her side of the courtroom, according to KWTX. He was later released.

Montana Department of Corrections