A Kansas man will serve the rest of his life in prison for shooting and burning his cousin’s remains, all because he left her faithful labradoodle Titan alive and well with her; the dog had a microchip that led back to the victim and the killer’s arrest.
Derek Joseph Daigneault, 29, was sentenced on Thursday for the death of Mandy Rose Reynolds, 26, according to a press release.
Daigneault’s sentencing was marked by drama, with the defendant yelling at the victim’s brother before being escorted out, and a fight breaking out between members of Daigneault’s and Reynolds’ families, according to local CBS and Telemundo affiliate KWTX.
“Like I told the jury, if they knew nothing else about Derek Daigneault other than what he did to Mandy Rose Reynolds — shooting her in the head, driving her body here to McLennan County and setting her on fire like a piece of trash — if that’s all they knew about him, that alone would have been enough to justify a life sentence,” said Ryan Calvert, McLennan County assistant district attorney, after the trial, according to the outlet.
“But once we got into the punishment phase, the jury learned he had been in trouble his whole life, he was a multiple-time convicted felon, he had been in prison in Kansas before for violent offenses, they even learned he had shot another individual as a juvenile,” Calvert went on.
“He is simply an extremely violent individual who cannot be trusted with the safety of this or any other community.” We felt that life was the only just verdict.”
The murder began on the morning of April 4, 2023, when authorities said surveillance video from a Walmart captured Daigneault purchasing a large plastic storage container, a shovel, and a gas can.
Walmart video also shows Daigneault leaving the store in Reynolds’ car, with Reynolds’ dog sticking his head out the window.
Daigneault later murdered the woman, burned her remains in the container, and abandoned the dog at the scene of the crime.
The murder was discovered on April 5 after police responded to a reported brush fire in a field on Heston Circle in Robinson, Texas, just south of Waco.
Police discovered a body on fire, burned beyond recognition, but used dental records to identify the remains as Reynolds’.
A white dog was also discovered nearby, barking frantically at police, refusing to leave the area or be corralled.
The following morning, after the body had been removed, a resident discovered the dog sitting in the same spot where the burning body had been discovered the night before.
That person notified animal control officers, who discovered that the dog, Titan, was microchipped and belonged to Reynolds.
Police discovered that Reynolds’ belongings had been removed, and her Honda Accord had gone missing.
A few days later, the car was located in Wichita, Kansas. On April 8, local police spotted the vehicle and attempted to stop it, but were involved in a high-speed chase that ended in a crash.
The driver fled into a nearby grocery store, where he was apprehended while hiding on a shelf behind canned goods.
Police discovered a.380 pistol in the driver’s seat floorboard of Reynolds’ car, which authorities believe was used in the killing.