Arrest Made In Case Of Rape, Murder Of Laura Marie Purchase 38 Years Ago

CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

May 22, 2021

Thirty-eight years later to the day, Montgomery County Cold Case Detectives collected DNA from the man now charged with raping, strangling and setting Laura Marie Purchase on fire — Thomas Darnell, 75.

On April 30, 2021 that DNA sample was positively matched to Darnell’s DNA profile collected from Purchase’s body. A warrant for capital murder was issued in Montgomery County, and he was arrested at his home on May 11, 2021.

More than three decades ago, on March 17, 1983, a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Deputy was on patrol in the 4000 block of IH-45 near League Line Road when he saw a fire burning in a wooded area to the east of his location. While investigating, he discovered a burning body.

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