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May 6, 2008 5:58 pm US/Central
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DNA Leads To Suspect In SMU Murder Cold Case
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
Dallas police are revealing more details about how they solved a cold murder case. The determination of a friend of the victim helped police finally discover and charge the suspected murderer.
Donald Andrew Bess, who is already in prison on unrelated charges, is now accused of killing Southern Methodist University student Angela Samota 24 years ago.
Samota was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death inside her Dallas apartment on October 13, 1984.
Police Officer Janice Crowther met Evelyn Sandy for the first time Tuesday, not realizing they had a connection - the death of Samota.
Crowther related the similarities between her and the murdered SMU student to CBS 11 News. "This girl was 20 years old [when she was killed]. I was 20 years old. She left home, left her mom, her family behind and so had I," Crowther said.
Samota's murder would remain unsolved for more than two decades, until her sorority sisters, including Sandy, urged action and more police investigation into the case.
"Because the entire SMU community was affected, not just our sorority, but many other people who knew and loved Angie," Sandy explained.
Donald Bess, 59, is currently serving a life sentence in the Texas Department of Corrections for three sexual assault offenses. He now also stands accused of capital murder. DNA testing from the Samota crime scene matched Bess.
DNA technology and the national database weren't available when Samota was murdered in 1984.
Samota's friends and family point to cold case Detective Linda Crum for solving the case. "Just total gratification," says Crum. "When I was able to get a hold of her mother, who's elderly, and be able to tell her what we had, it was just… that made it right there."
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