Dale Devon Scheanette was identified years after two 1996 murders in the same Arlington, Texas, apartment complex. A latent fingerprint from the investigation produced the breakthrough when it was reprocessed with improved FBI database technology. A warrant-authorized saliva sample then matched DNA recovered from Wendie Prescott with a reported statistical certainty of one in 763 million. Scheanette was convicted of Prescott’s capital murder in January 2003, sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on February 10, 2009.
What happened in the Arlington apartment complex?
Christine Vu’s murder
On September 17, 1996, 26-year-old Christine Vu was found in her Arlington apartment. She had been bound with duct tape, sexually assaulted, strangled and submerged in a half-filled bathtub.
Wendie Prescott’s murder
On December 24, 1996, 22-year-old Wendie Prescott was found dead in her bathtub in the same complex. She had been bound in a similar way. Investigators preserved sexual-assault evidence and recovered a latent fingerprint, but the initial database searches did not identify a suspect.
Why did the case remain unsolved?
The early fingerprint searches produced no usable identification, and the available investigative technology did not connect the latent print to a known person. The evidence was retained rather than discarded, leaving open the possibility that a later database search could produce a result.
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How was the “Bathtub Killer” identified?
Scheanette was arrested in 1999–2000 on an unrelated property offense. Investigators then resubmitted the latent fingerprint to the FBI system. Improved matching technology generated a high-scoring match to Scheanette, turning an unidentified crime-scene mark into an investigative lead.
What evidence linked Scheanette to Prescott’s murder?
The fingerprint lead
The latent fingerprint did not by itself establish every element of the homicide. It identified Scheanette as someone investigators needed to test and investigate further.
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The warrant-based DNA comparison
After the fingerprint hit, Arlington officers obtained a search warrant for Scheanette’s saliva. Testing compared his DNA with semen recovered from Prescott. The result matched, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit describing the statistical certainty as one in 763 million.
| Evidence | Role in the case | What it established |
|---|---|---|
| Latent fingerprint | Investigative breakthrough | Produced the database match that focused investigators on Scheanette |
| DNA from warrant-authorized saliva sample | Forensic corroboration | Matched biological evidence recovered from Prescott, with a reported certainty of one in 763 million |
| Evidence concerning Christine Vu | Punishment-phase evidence | Linked Scheanette to the other Arlington bathtub killing after the jury decided Prescott’s capital-murder case |
Did DNA solve the Arlington bathtub-killer case?
DNA was decisive corroboration, but it was not the original breakthrough. The fingerprint resubmission supplied the lead; the warrant-based DNA test then provided powerful biological confirmation. Describing the case as solved by DNA alone leaves out the technology-assisted fingerprint identification that brought Scheanette into focus.
How did the two murders figure in court?
Scheanette was prosecuted and convicted for Prescott’s capital murder. Evidence about Vu’s killing was presented during the punishment phase and linked him to that earlier homicide. Thus, the two murders formed the factual background of the case, but the conviction described in the court record was for Prescott’s capital murder.
Case timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| September 17, 1996 | Christine Vu, 26, was found bound, sexually assaulted, strangled and submerged in a bathtub in her Arlington apartment. |
| December 24, 1996 | Wendie Prescott, 22, was found similarly bound and dead in her bathtub in the same apartment complex. Investigators recovered a latent fingerprint and preserved sexual-assault evidence. |
| 1999–2000 | Scheanette was arrested on an unrelated property offense. Investigators resubmitted the latent print to the FBI system, where improved technology produced a high-scoring match. |
| After the fingerprint hit | Police obtained a warrant for Scheanette’s saliva. DNA testing matched the sample to semen recovered from Prescott. |
| January 2003 | A Texas jury convicted Scheanette of capital murder and sentenced him to death. |
| September 15, 2004 | The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgment on direct appeal. |
| February 10, 2009 | Texas executed Scheanette by lethal injection. |
What happened to Dale Scheanette after his arrest?
A Texas jury convicted him of capital murder in January 2003 and imposed a death sentence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgment on September 15, 2004. After the conviction and appeal process, Scheanette was executed by lethal injection in Texas on February 10, 2009.
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice recorded his final statement: “My only statement is that no cases have ever tried have been error free. Those are my words. No cases are error free. You may proceed Warden.”
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What ultimately brought the case to justice?
- Preserved scene evidence: Investigators retained a latent fingerprint and sexual-assault evidence from Prescott’s apartment.
- Technology caught up with the evidence: A later FBI database search identified the fingerprint after earlier searches had failed.
- Independent forensic confirmation: A court-authorized saliva collection produced a DNA match to biological evidence from Prescott.
- Criminal adjudication: The jury convicted Scheanette of Prescott’s capital murder, the appellate court affirmed the judgment, and Texas carried out the death sentence in 2009.
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