According to a Texas DPS press release, and arrest has been made in a murder that occurred over 30 years ago, thanks to newly analyzed DNA. Texas Rangers arrested a man this past week in connection to the crime. On August 28, Daniel A. MacGinnis, 60, of Warren, Texas, was indicted on one count of first-degree felony murder in the 1988 death of Patricia Ann Jacobs. MacGinnis is accused in the 1988 killing of MacGinnis, who also lived in Warren at the time.

Jacobs, 36 at the time, attended a meeting at the now-closed Silver Spur tavern in rural Hardin County on the evening of October 5, 1988. When she didn’t return home, her husband drove to the bar to search for her and found her pickup truck still in the parking lot. Jacobs’ husband contacted the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office and reported her missing. The following day, Jacobs’ body was found in the Neches River in the city of Port Arthur, which is located in Jefferson County, 40 miles from where she was last seen at the Silver Spur Tavern.

Image: Texas DPS
Patricia Ann Jacobs (Image: Texas DPS)
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MacGinnis lived in Warren at the time of Jacobs’ death. The Texas Rangers, the Port Arthur Police Department and the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office investigated Jacobs’ slaying and determined MacGinnis was a suspect at the time. MacGinnis fled Texas for California. Texas Rangers traveled to California to interview him.  MacGinnis denied to investigators any involvement in Jacobs’ death. Investigators determined that MacGinnis and Jacobs had no previous contact.

The investigation stalled until October 2018 when a family member contacted the Texas Rangers to request an update on the case. The Port Arthur Police and Texas Rangers determined there was evidence in the case that had not previously been examined by the Texas DPS Crime Laboratory. The DNA in question was submitted to the DPS lab for testing, and it was a match for MacGinnis.

MacGinnis was arrested on Tuesday, August 27, on one count of first-degree felony murder, and he was indicted on August 28. His bond has been set at $1 million. MacGinnis has previously been convicted of crimes in Texas, California and Idaho. The Texas Rangers continue their investigation in East Texas, and have reached out to law enforcement agencies in California, Idaho and eastern Texas in an effort to determine if MacGinnis is tied to any other unsolved cases in those areas as well.

 

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