Mandy Rose Reynolds, 26, was found “dead beyond recognition” in April 2023. His dog helped police identify him and his killer, Derek Daigneault.

The 2023 murder of an Idaho woman was solved with the help of an unlikely source: the victim’s dog.

Mandy Rose Reynolds, 26, was found burned and “dead beyond recognition” by authorities responding to a brush fire in Robinson, Texas, in April 2023, according to the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office.

According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office, his cousin Derek Daigneault, 29, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, November 7, for the murder. a version last week.

The investigation began on April 5, 2023, after police found Reynolds’ body, initially unrecognizable, “burning next to a white dog that barked wildly at officers and refused to leave the area where the body was found, while also refusing to allow police to apprehend it.” ” he stated, according to the prosecutor’s press release.

The next day, the dog was still there after its body was removed, when a citizen notified animal control, who tracked down the dog’s owner via a chip on him. Police later received a tip that the body was likely Reynolds’ and learned that the dog’s name was Titan.

That information led police to Reynolds’ home, where they found all of her belongings were missing and her home was completely empty, the DA’s office said. The victim’s car was also missing, prompting police to review the victim’s vehicle information in the license plate database. They determined the car was in Wichita, Kan.

Wichita police, who received information about the vehicle, located Reynolds’ car on April 8, 2023, and encountered Daigneault, according to the DA’s office. Police said the man fled the scene on foot and hid on a grocery store shelf, where he was captured.

Investigators found a gun inside the car that resembled the shell casing found in the container where police said Reynolds’ body was burned.

Meanwhile, Walmart security footage obtained by police in San Marcos, Texas, shows the killer purchasing a plastic storage container “identical” to the one Reynolds was later found in, a shovel and a gas can the day before Reynolds’ body was found It was showing. Police said the footage also captured Titan’s head sticking out of the window of Reynolds’ car.

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One GoFundMe Reynolds’ mother told the investigation after the murder that the victim had moved from Idaho to San Marcos and was considering starting college before the murder. Her mother says Daigneault reached out to Reynolds under “false pretenses.”

“This resulted in Mandy traveling to Kansas to bring Derek to Texas for a brief visit,” his mother, Karleen Hardy, wrote at the fundraiser.

No further details about the circumstances, such as the reasons for the murder, were released.