Michael Puryear, who was arrested in his home Monday, faces a capital murder charge, with his bail set at $500,000. It’s not clear if he has an attorney.
Police said Dennis was found fatally beaten in her Ridglea Hills home, suffering several blunt-force injuries to her head and back along with lacerations to her neck and torso. At the time, robbery appeared to be a motive in the slaying as her car was missing along with valuable jewelry.Advertisement
Authorities found her car, a 1993 Acura Legend, almost a month later in the parking lot of a 24-hour Kmart in San Antonio, according to archives. Dennis, a prison ministry volunteer and owner of a local beauty shop, was last seen Aug. 9 when she left a state prison in Huntsville after a scheduled prison ministry appointment, according to police. She was also the mother of Puryear’s college roommate.The arrest Monday was the second time police has arrested Puryear in connection with the slaying.Court records show Puryear was first arrested in 2006. A Tarrant County grand jury charged him with capital murder in 2009.
Detectives further investigated the tip and were led to Puryear as the suspect, police said. Prosecutors said at the time the informant’s story was not credible, according to the APRecent advancements in DNA technology allowed for testing that was not previously available then, police said. Homicide Detective Jeff Bennett reopened the case and built on the previous work.
Police did not share details about Bennett’s investigation or what new evidence led them again to Puryear but said his investigation “was pivotal in adding to the evidence in this case.”
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