They were shocking crimes: Sorority sisters in their 50's and 60's raped in their homes.
For years, the cases sat cold until new DNA technology re-ignited the journey for justice.
Last week, a man known as the 'Sorority Rapist' was sentenced in a Collin County courtroom to life in prison.
Jeffrey Wheat's conviction came more than 20 years after his first known victim, who was not a sorority member, and more than a decade after the three Delta Sigma Theta alumnae were raped in their homes.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
“We wouldn't have solved it, I'm pretty sure, without out genetic genealogy,” said retired Plano Police CSI Unit Manager Rick Staub.
Genetic genealogy is the same technology used to catch the Golden State Killer.
It was successfully used for the first time in Collin County to identify Wheat, according to Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis.
“It took us several years and hours and hours of research,” said Plano Police Detective Daniel Bryeans.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Detective Bryeans was assigned the case in 2018 when he started on Plano's cold case unit.
“Where we started was just looking at all the evidence we had,” said Det. Bryeans.
The evidence included binders full of documents, videos, and DNA the suspect left at scenes, which was entered into databases used by the public to trace ancestry.
“We would have to get matches of those relatives and then start looking at social media, law enforcement websites, anything to try to start tracking families from there,” said Det. Bryeans.
Countless DNA samples from possible relatives were tested, Staub said, many not resulting in matches.
“We hit so many roadblocks,” said Det. Bryeans.
But they didn't give up.
“I think we had so many victims, and then we had the victims and then the horrific crimes that they were, we couldn't stop there,” said Det. Bryeans.
In 2021, Wheat, a truck driver, was arrested in Arkansas after Detective Bryeans said Wheat’s identity was confirmed through DNA taken from his daughter and half-brother.
“We tried to interview him, he wouldn't talk to us,” said Det. Bryeans.
Wheat pleaded guilty last week to cases in Collin, Dallas, Tarrant, and Denton Counties.
“It was quite satisfying,” said Staub. “We would never have gotten through this case without the help of the entire department.”
When asked if he believes Wheat has more victims, Detective Bryeans replied, “Absolutely, without a doubt.”
Wheat was sentenced to life in prison for cases out of Tarrant and Collin Counties, 30 years for the Dallas County case, and 20 years for the case in Denton County.
