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Suspect Recently Arrested In 35-Year Old Cold Case Murder Commits Suicide In Jail
April 2, 2020
The man arrested last month in a 1985 murder case apparently committed suicide Thursday morning at the Escambia County Jail.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said Daniel Leonard Wells took his own life in his cell early Thursday morning, just a few days ahead of a scheduled court appearance on April 8.
He was charged with homicide and sexual battery in the death of 23-year old Tonya Ethridge McKinley.
She was killed in the early-morning hours of January 1, 1985. Her partially nude body was found on the side of Peak Drive near Scenic Highway about four hours after she was last seen alive at Darryl’s Restaurant behind what was then University Mall. The investigation found she had been strangled to death and sexually assaulted.
Wells was developed as the suspect after a DNA sample from the crime scene ran through a database identified some of his’ relatives. Police created a family tree and tracked him down. They surreptitiously obtained a cigarette butt discarded by Wells and made a DNA match to the crime scene.
Wells was booked into the Escambia County Jail on March 18.
Comments
11 Responses to “Suspect Recently Arrested In 35-Year Old Cold Case Murder Commits Suicide In Jail”
@Dalton,
Unless I missed something, the article doesn’t specify WHAT it was matched to at the crime scene, nor does it tell us if he could have been at the scene BEFORE the crime but not DURING the crime, if he WAS there and alone or if there was another person involved, etc.
The case is never going to be fully solved now.
thanx Danny, if all on death row would do the same it would save a lot of tax money.
He admitted to the crime, and he saved us from having to support him for 25 years plus like all the others. No trials for her son and sister and other family members to deal with. It’s OVER , thank the Lord ❗ He, was eat up with guilt and took the easy way out !
Good, rot in hell
@Just saying….The woman had been sexually assaulted…the DNA matched this guy. He killed himself because he knew the truth. Case closed.
How convenient. At least he saved the taxpayers a whole lot of mula!!
To the previous responders,
Not so. Now we’ll never know the truth. Did he really do it? Why? He was only arrested for it, not convicted, so now there is a plethora of unanswered questions.
What a weak weak person he obviously was. He took the easy way out.
This is the picture of a coward. He took this woman’s life and failed to face the truth..That’s ok, there’s a special place in h*** for people like him. Pray for all the families involved.
A coward’s way out.
I can live with that result. He strangled her then strangle himself. Hopefully it wasn’t quick.