Loyal dog helped solve owner’s grisly murder as cousin jailed for life

A loyal dog that refused to leave his dead owner’s side helped solve the case of her murder by allowing detectives to identify her body, prosecutors said.

Mandy Rose Reynolds, 26, was shot before her body was “burned beyond recognition” in a field fire in Robinson, Texas. She was found by police on April 5, 2023, the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office said in a release.

Her cousin, Derek Daigneault, 29, of Wichita, Kansas, was sentenced to life in prison on Nov. 7 for her murder following an investigation that spanned two states, according to the DA’s office.

And one of the keys to identifying Reynolds was her white-haired labradoodle, Titan.

Police found Titan near her body, barking “frantically.” He refused to leave the area and wouldn’t allow police to capture him, prosecutors said.

The next morning, the body was removed but a passerby found Titan sitting at the same spot. That Good Samaritan called Robinson Animal Control, which found that Titan was microchipped and belonged to Reynolds.

“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,” Assistant District Attorneys Ryan Calvert and Alyssa Killin said in a statement.

Robinson Police then learned that Reynolds lived in San Marcos, Texas. San Marcos Police were contacted and went to her home, but found it completely empty with all her possessions removed and her black Honda Accord missing, the news release said.

A license plate database revealed that the car was somewhere in Wichita, Kansas.

The Wichita Police Department was alerted and on April 8, 2023, spotted her vehicle and attempted to pull it over.

However, Daigneault was behind the wheel and the stop attempt ended in a high-speed chase that lasted nearly 30 minutes and reached speeds of over 100 mph.

The Honda Accord ultimately crashed into another vehicle and Daigneault fled on foot and into a nearby grocer store, where “he hid on a shelf behind canned goods,” the DA’s office said.

A search of Reynolds’ car in Wichita led police to find a .380 handgun in the driver’s seat floorboard.

Meanwhile back in Robinson, local police determined that the body had been burned inside a large plastic storage container and police found a fired .380 shell casing that was burned inside that container, the release said.

Surveillance video footage from a Walmart in San Marcos Texas showed Daigneault purchasing a large plastic storage container identical to the one Reynolds’ boy was burned in, a shovel and a gas can the morning of April 4, 2023. Video also showed him leaving the store in Reynolds’ car and Titan sticking his head out the car window. 

The medical examiner eventually formally identified the body as Reynolds through dental records. It was determined she died from a gunshot wound to the head, and a .380 bullet was recovered from her remains.

The Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory confirmed the bullet found in her body and the shell casing found by Robinson police were both fired by the handgun found in Daigneault’s possession, the DA’s office said.

An attorney for Daigneault did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.