Samantha Dean 29, Kyle TX Police Victim Services Coordinator Found Dead CONVICTION!

[texasmom]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1028462497169438&set=a.991726830843005.1073741826.100000170916787&type=1

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/19/fbi-joins-search-for-samantha-deans-killer/23703723/
FBI joins search for Samantha Dean's killer
February 20, 2015

AUSTIN -- More than two weeks since a Bastrop County sheriff's deputy found Samantha Dean's body in a Bastrop parking lot, the FBI has joined in the search as investigators from Austin, Kyle, Bastrop County Sheriff's Department and the Texas Rangers have been looking for her killer.

The agency is the latest to join a group of city, county and state law enforcement officials in tracking down whoever shot the crime victims counselor for the Kyle Police Department.

FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee could not discuss the agency's specific role but admitted they are providing assistance to local investigators.
 
Two APD employees received threats immediately after her death, prompting the department to set up round-the-clock security for them.

Investigators have named no suspects, and the attorney for an Austin police officer on paid leave because of his ties to Dean said his client had nothing to do with her death.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/sheriff-arrest-in-dean-case-likely-not-soon/nkMXm/
Bastrop sheriff: Arrest in Samantha Dean case likely not soon
March 2, 2015

As authorities begin their fourth week of investigating Samantha Dean’s death, Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering said he does not expect an imminent arrest and that he is not prepared to name a suspect.

The search for the killer of the 29-year-old crime victims counselor could hinge on forensic testing results and ongoing interviews with dozens of people connected to her, Pickering told the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV on Monday.

“At this point, it truly is a whodunit-type case,” Pickering said. “We are putting forward all the resources that we possibly can.”
 
On Monday, Pickering said investigators have questioned dozens of people about their relationship with Dean, including some who work in law enforcement and who were connected to her because of her job.

The American-Statesman reported the week after Dean’s death that Austin police officials had placed Officer VonTrey Clark on paid leave because of his close ties to Dean and were investigating whether Clark, who has a common law wife, is the father of Dean’s child.

The sheriff would not answer questions about Clark or his relationship with Dean, but Clark’s attorney has said his client had nothing to do with her death.

Sources also have said that two Austin police employees, including a crime victims counselor who had ties to Dean, were given 24-hour security by the department’s organized crime division after they received threatening texts following her death.

Pickering said detectives still have dozens more people to question.

“She obviously had contact with a whole lot of different people, either law enforcement professionals or people she provided services to,” Pickering said.

The sheriff added that they may obtain new leads after the Texas Department of Public Safety helps them collect and test forensic samples from the scene where Dean was found.

In addition to the Bastrop County sheriff’s office, several other law enforcement agencies also are involved in the case, including the Texas Rangers and the Austin and Kyle police departments. Last week, the Statesman reported that the FBI had joined the investigation.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2015/03/05/fetus-in-dean-murder-sent-to-special-lab-for-dna-testing/
Fetus in Samantha Dean murder sent to lab for DNA testing
March 5, 2015


BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — A DNA sample from the unborn child belonging to murder victim Samantha Dean was sent to the University of North Texas and its center for Human Identification, multiple officials told KXAN.

Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering says “The fetus was taken to the University of North Texas…which is nationally recognized for their work in forensic DNA analysis.”
UNT scientists have the ability to test DNA to determine who an unborn child’s parents are. The lab would need DNA samples from Dean and a potential father to help make that determination.

The center has another division that looks at unidentified remains.The University of North Texas also analyzed DNA when investigators found the remains of 2-year-old Colton Turner. At the time, they needed to confirm the boy’s identity.
 
The elected official responsible for releasing autopsy information in Bastrop County is the Justice of the Peace. Precinct One JP Donna Thomson says she is waiting on final results from the private medical examiner the county contracts with. But Thomson does confirm a DNA sample from the fetus was sent off.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/austin-police-open-inquiry-on-officer-connected-to/nkTx2/
Austin police open inquiry on officer connected to Samantha Dean
March 12, 2015

Austin police officials have formally opened an internal affairs investigation into the actions of an officer closely connected to a Kyle police crime counselor found dead last month.

The American-Statesman and KVUE-TV confirmed Thursday that the department recently gave officer Vontrey Clark a written notice informing him of the internal inquiry, but the status of the investigation remains unclear.

Undercover officers kept surveillance on VonTrey Clark immediately after 29-year-old Samantha Dean was found dead and reported seeing him driving recklessly. Officials said the internal affairs investigation will focus on those allegations.

Clark’s attorney said the investigation is an abuse of the internal affairs process by Police Chief Art Acevedo.

“Homicide investigators have no evidence and no idea who killed Samantha Dean and are desperately seeking someone to blame,” lawyer Bristol Myers said.

Myers also accused the department of trying to justify removing Clark from the force after the death of Dean, who was seven months pregnant.

“The chief is using a minor allegation to wash his hands of a problem he created by placing officer Clark on leave without any evidence of wrongdoing,” Myers said.

Officials would release no information about the reckless driving allegations against Clark.

The department said in a statement: “Austin police officers are governed by state civil service statute, and as such, the Austin Police Department cannot provide information as to whether or not an internal affairs investigation is ongoing.”
 
The American-Statesman and KVUE reported the week after Dean’s death that the department had placed Clark on paid leave because of his ties to Dean and that detectives were looking into whether he was the father of her child.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/2015/03/12/new-investigation-for-officer-connected-to-samantha-dean/70233912/
New investigation for officer connected to Samantha Dean
March 12, 2015

AUSTIN -- An Austin police officer with ties to Samantha Dean is now under an official internal affairs investigation concerning what officials said was alleged conduct in the days after the crime victims counselor's death.

KVUE News and the Austin American-Statesman confirmed for the first time Thursday that in the days after Samantha Dean's murder, the department kept undercover surveillance on VonTrey Clark because of his connections to Dean. It's what those officers witnessed -- Officer Clark allegedly driving recklessly -- that has lead to this new investigation.

Dean's killer shot her three times in the head. Her body left in a parking lot behind a vacant building in Bastrop. She was a victim's crime advocate for the city of Kyle, and was 7 months pregnant. 24 hours after her body was found APD put Clark on paid leave.

Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering said in a recent interview that Dean's death remains mysterious.

"At this point in the investigation we are still looking at it as a whodunit type case," Pickering said.

Clark's attorney, Bristol Myers, said APD is now abusing the internal affairs process to unfairly target his client.

Myers told KVUE in a statement, "Homicide investigators have no evidence and no idea who killed Samantha Dean and are desperately seeking someone to blame."
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/investigators-search-austin-police-officers-home-i/nmF8X/
Investigators search Austin police officer’s home in Samantha Dean case
May 13, 2015

Investigators have served a search warrant on the Southwest Austin home of Austin police Officer Vontrey Clark in connection with the February death of Samantha Dean, a pregnant crime victims counselor who was found shot in the head in Bastrop County, Clark’s attorney said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, detectives took a DNA sample of Clark, several pairs of shoes, and “essentially every electronic device in the house,” attorney Bristol Myers wrote in an email.

Myers said State District Judge Julie Kocurek sealed the warrant for at least 30 days because of the ongoing investigation.

Bastrop County deputies found Dean’s body just off Texas 71 in February. She had been shot three times in the head.

Clark was placed on leave after Dean was discovered because of his connections to the 29-year-old woman. Investigators are trying to determine whether he was the father of the child she was carrying, according to multiple sources familiar with the case.

“The nature and number of items taken, and the things police were looking for but did not find, suggest Samantha Dean’s killer very much remains a mystery to them,” Myers said in an email.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2015/05/13/search-warrant-executed-at-home-of-apd-officer-connected-to-samantha-dean/
Search warrant executed at home of APD officer connected to Samantha Dean
May 13, 2015

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s been three months since the death of Samantha Dean and authorities are still looking for details regarding her homicide case. On Tuesday, authorities carried out a search warrant on Austin Police Department Officer VonTrey Clark’s home and car, according to Clark’s attorney Bristol Myers. Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering confirms his detectives executed a search warrant Tuesday.
 
Sources say the Austin Police Department placed Clark on restricted duty shortly after Dean’s death and currently have an open internal investigation into his connection with Dean.

“APD will not discuss questions regarding specifics of the ongoing criminal investigation or the employment status of any members of the department,” the department said Wednesday when asked if Clark was still on restricted duty.

It has been reported Clark knew Dean socially before her death on Feb. 4. She was the victim service’s coordinator in Kyle. Bastrop County District Attorney tells KXAN Dean’s case is “very much an ongoing investigation.”
 

[Sister]

This is so sad -- a mother and her child -- gone.

 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/2015/06/02/3-in-custody-relating-to-samantha-dean-case/28379153/
3 in custody relating to Samantha Dean case
June 2, 2015

Three people are in jail with possible relations to Samantha Dean, a crime victims counselor found dead in Bastrop County in February.

Court documents obtained exclusively by KVUE News and the Austin American-Statesman reveal members of the group sent death threats to a second crime victims counselor and according to police engaged in a cover-up of Dean's murder.

Police have identified 31-year-old Kevin Watson from Houston as a key suspect in the murder of Dean, 29. Watson is now in jail in Harris County on unrelated drug charges and is one of three people police linked to the case.

Also arrested was Watson's girlfriend, 50-year-old Kyla Fisk, on a charge of evidence tampering. Police said she got rid of a sweatshirt they believe Watson wore the day of Dean's death.

Aaron Lamont Williams is in jail in Bastrop County on a retaliation charge. He is accused of sending a death threat to another crisis counselor, a woman who works for the Austin Police Department.

That threat, sent via text message five days after Dean's death, reads in part, "I got her ... I'm coming for you. I'll show you what a crisis is."

Right now no one is formally charged with killing Dean, and court documents do not mention a possible motive.

The case began in the early morning hours of Feb. 4 when Bastrop County sheriff's deputies found Dean's body in the parking lot of a vacant shopping center. The killer shot Dean three times in the head. She was seven months pregnant.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2015/06/02/2-in-harris-co-jail-tied-to-samantha-dean-murder/
2 in Harris Co. jail tied to Samantha Dean murder
June 2, 2015

HOUSTON (KXAN) — Two people in the Harris County jail are connected to Samantha Dean’s murder investigation, court documents show. Dean, a victim service’s coordinator with the Kyle Police Department was found shot to death about 2 a.m. Feb. 4 by a Bastrop County Sheriff’s deputy patrolling a shopping center parking lot at 118 Stephen F. Austin Blvd. She was seven months pregnant.

Kevin Watson, 31, has been in jail since April 27 on drug possession charges. His girlfriend, 50-year-old Kyla Fisk, was booked on charges of tampering with evidence. Court documents show Watson asked Fisk to get rid of a hoodie police say he was wearing the day Dean was murdered.

Fisk told Watson she had “already taken care of it,” the warrant said. Court documents also claim Fisk lied to police about her relationship with Watson — and other key details– in an April 28 interview with investigators.

During the course of the murder investigation, detectives noticed someone contacted Dean from a prepaid phone several times just prior to the murder, the affidavit said. A text message sent later to Dean’s phone asked her to meet the person at the spot where she was found dead.

Detectives said Watson bought the prepaid phone at a Walmart near Stafford, Texas, the same day Dean was murdered, the document states. Police said surveillance video reviewed on Feb. 25 showed Watson, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants and black shoes, walk in and buy the phone. Tracking records show the phone was in the Bastrop-area at the same time Dean was believed to have been killed, the warrant added.

In an interview with police on May 4, Fisk admitted to taking some of Watson’s clothes to a friend’s home, the document said. Officers later found the red hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants and black shoes at the friend’s home.

Court documents did not mention VonTrey Clark, an officer with the Austin Police Department who reportedly knew Dean socially before her death. In May, authorities carried out a search warrant on Clark’s home and car. Clark’s attorney, Bristol Myers, said a DNA sample was also taken from Clark, along with several pairs of shoes and “essentially every electronic device in the house.”

Sources say the Austin Police Department placed Clark on restricted duty shortly after Dean’s death and opened an internal investigation into his connection with Dean.

No one has been charged with murder in Dean’s death.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/autopsy-uncovers-new-details-in-samantha-dean-murd/nmTyy/
Autopsy uncovers new details in Samantha Dean murder investigation
June 3, 2015

A newly released autopsy report for Samantha Dean reveals hairs and fine fiber were found on her hands after she was shot and killed in February.

A June 2 final autopsy report, obtained by the Bastrop Advertiser on Wednesday through a Public Information Act request, states three hairs and a very fine fiber were collected from Dean’s hands and were introduced into evidence.

“On the right thumb is a very fine light fiber…” the report states. “… Three hairs are present on the left hand: a short slightly kinky hair is present stuck to the tip of the left thumb; a long straight dark hair is present between the 3rd and 4th fingers; a short straight hair is present on the tip of the 2nd finger.
 
The June 2 autopsy affirms Dean was shot three times, with two gunshot wounds to the right side of the head and a third to the undersurface of the chin. One of the gunshots was a contact wound on the lower right temple, the report found.

Investigators were unable to determine the range of fire for the second gunshot to the right side of her head due to Dean’s thick hair. Dean’s gunshot under her chin was fired from an “intermediate range” with soot and powder found on her chin and neck, according to the report.

No other injuries were found on Dean’s body and a subsequent autopsy of her chest and abdomen revealed no internal trauma, according the final autopsy report.

Dean’s unborn child weighed two pounds and three-and-a-half ounces, appeared normal and had no evidence of trauma, the report stated. “The weight and measurements of the fetus are consistent with a 26-27 weeks gestational age.”

Dean’s father, Kelvin Dean, has said the unborn child was going to be named Madeline.

There have been no arrests in Dean’s murder, but authorities in Harris County have identified a potential suspect behind her killing.

The Austin-American Statesman reported Tuesday that 31-year-old Kevin Watson, from Houston, is in a Harris County jail on a drug charge and court documents identify him as a possible suspect in Dean’s murder.

Authorities have also arrested Watson’s girlfriend, Kyla D. Fisk, 50, on a tampering with evidence charge for allegedly concealing a sweatshirt Watson is believed to have been wearing the day of Dean’s death, according to an arrest warrant, the newspaper reported.

Investigators were able to connect Watson to a phone purchased at a Walmart just outside of Houston, which may have been used to send several text messages to Dean asking to meet up on the day of her death. That cell phone number was later traced as being near the crime scene “at the same time the victim was believed to have been murdered,” an arrest affidavit for Fisk said.

Store security video, obtained by police, showed a man, appearing to be Watson and wearing a red University of Houston sweatshirt, purchasing the phone the same day Dean was killed, the Statesman reported.

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2015/06/03/cell-phone-tracking-leads-to-crucial-evidence/
Cellphone tracking leads to crucial evidence
June 3, 2015

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Television shows may lead one to believe by smashing a “burner” phone after a call, you will be able to eliminate any record of its use. But geolocation of cellphones has recently impacted two high-profile murder cases in Central Texas.
 

On Tuesday, an affidavit filed by Harris County District Attorney’s Office indicated cellphone records show text messages were made to Samantha Dean’s phone the day she was killed asking her to meet the sender. Those messages were traced to a pre-paid cellphone investigators found was purchased at a Houston area Walmart. Surveillance video from the Walmart led to a possible suspect.

Greg Ledenbach is a digital forensics expert for E-Investigations, a private computer and cellphone investigations company. He said the GPS which comes equipped in many smartphones is one way to track cell location. Having “locations services” turned on can leave digital fingerprints when using the phone or its applications.

But that is not the only way to follow.

“Triangulating from cellphone towers requires cooperation from tower’s owner,” said Ledenbach. Triangulation is a locating process requiring at least three cell towers. Using the amount of time it takes for a phone to “ping” off a tower, forensic experts can identify an approximate location to where the phone is located. The more towers in range, the more accurately the phone can be placed. Cellphone companies have to grant access which is why private investigators are rarely involved in such a location technique, however, law enforcement with a search warrant can get access to such evidence.

Pre-paid phones do not provide as much protection as what television may lead you to believe according to Ledenbach. He said unless the actual memory chip is destroyed, data can still be retrieved. And even though the phone is prepaid, it can still be tracked like any other phone.

[Sister]

This feels like it will be a long wait for justice.

I truly hope not!

 

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2015/07/13/search-warrants-unsealed-in-samantha-dean-case/
Warrants detail alleged conspiracy in Samantha Dean killing
July 13, 2015, Updated July 14, 2015

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/2015/07/13/search-warrant-for-apd-officers-home-unsealed-in-dean-murder-case/30076775/
Search warrant: Officer wanted Dean to abort child
July 14, 2015

An extensive search warrant of an Austin police officer's home in the Samantha Dean murder investigation was unsealed Monday, providing new details into what happened to the Kyle police crime victims counselor. The search warrant affidavit has been confidential for nearly two months.

According to the search warrant, Austin police officer VonTrey Clark wanted Dean to have an abortion.

An autopsy showed that Dean was seven months pregnant when she was found just off Texas 71 on Feb. 4 shot three times in the head, including once at close range.

The warrant is the first court document that publicly links Clark to Dean's death.

According to the warrant, Clark told Dean his life would be ruined if she had a baby. Dean told co-workers if she turned up dead "Clark would be responsible,"and she felt at one point "Clark was going to murder her," according to the warrant.

The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE News first reported in February that Clark had been placed on administrative leave because of his relationship with Dean, and in May, Clark's attorney confirmed that his home had been searched as part of the investigation.

Police have not yet filed any formal charges in Dean's death; however, the warrant does give details of a conspiracy to kill Dean that involved multiple people, including texts about selection of murder location.

In late May, investigators in court documents publicly named a Houston man, 31-year-old Kevin Watson, as a suspect in Dean's death. They also arrested his girlfriend, Kyla D. Fisk, on a tampering with evidence charge for allegedly hiding a sweatshirt Watson is believed to have worn the day of Dean's death.

A third person, Aaron Lamont Williams, was in the Bastrop County Jail on Tuesday on a charge of retaliation after investigators said he sent a threatening text message to an Austin Police Department counselor five days after Dean's death.

Clark's attorney, Bristol Myers, said after the search earlier this year of his client's home, police took several pairs of shoes and multiple electronic devices.

At the time, a judge sealed the search warrant of his home for at least 30 days.

Revelations about what happened to Dean have been slowly paced over several months after Bastrop County deputies found Dean's body.
 

See statement by Austin PD regarding Clark at end of article.

Video

[MuffyBee]

So Officer Clark felt his life would be "ruined" if Samantha Dean gave birth.  Samantha Dean and Baby Dean's lives were not only ruined, but taken and cannot be given back.   I shudder to think of the fear Samantha must have felt not only for herself, but also her unborn daughter before they were both murdered.   

May justice prevail.

[Amys Sister]

Because having a precious little baby will ruin your life so much more than murdering her and her mommy.

Low life disgusting monster cloaked in a human form.

May he rot.

[MuffyBee]

Because having a precious little baby will ruin your life so much more than murdering her and her mommy.

Low life disgusting monster cloaked in a human form.

May he rot.

Exactly!

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2015/07/23/apd-officer-linked-to-samantha-dean-fired/
APD officer linked to Samantha Dean fired, currently in Indonesia
Published July 23, 2015, Updated July 24, 2015

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin police officer who had a relationship with homicide victim Samantha Dean has been fired, according to the Austin Police Department.

VonTrey Clark, 32, was suspended indefinitely on Thursday. In a memo from Chief Art Acevedo, Clark refused to attend an in-person interview scheduled for July 18. When he didn’t respond, the Internal Affairs office scheduled a Dismissal Review Hearing for July 23, which he also failed to appear. According to the Department, Clark was required to report and get permission from his supervisors before leaving his home.

According to the memo, Clark flew to Indonesia—a country with which the U.S. does not have an extradition treaty—on July 17, without approval from his supervisors. The Department is now considering Clark absent without leave (AWOL) since they can’t get in contact with him.

“I am only imposing disciplinary action for administrative policy violations that do not involved possible criminal conduct by Officer Clark in order to maintain the integrity of and not jeopardize the criminal investigation,” continued Acevedo in the disciplinary memo.

During a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Acevedo sent a message directly for Clark: “If you have any dignity, any semblance of humanity, Mr. Clark, get back on that plane and come back to Austin.”

Acevedo says he’s also in contact with the Dean family. “At some point, I have told Mr. and Mrs. Dean, again my number one priority as a police chief is to bring those responsible for the death of that young woman with that beautiful smile and that unborn child to justice. We will continue to do everything we can as an organization to assist the Department of Public Safety. And now that he is overseas, I can assure at some point, our federal partners will be involved in this ongoing investigation as it relates to the criminal case.”

Clark’s attorney Bristol Myers issued the following statement in regards to his client and his whereabouts:

Today’s firing was inevitable as soon as Chief Acevedo pulled Officer Clark off the street and subjected him to constant surveillance back in February. The Chief’s slanderous remarks today confirm that. Over these last few months, his administration has alleged one trifling policy violation after another against Officer Clark, none of which merited a firing. These latest allegations are a stretch of both the facts and policy, and should be easy to overturn at arbitration, if we choose to proceed with it. Internal affairs already had the phone records they claim Officer Clark didn’t produce. The bank records at issue in the suspension memo were not records that he had legal authority to obtain. This firing would be much harder to reverse if the Chief had the political luxury to wait for Officer Clark to be charged with a crime. But based on everything in the internal affairs investigation, and everything made public thus far, there still doesn’t appear to be enough evidence to do so.

The confusion over his FMLA leave stems from Human Resources providing Officer Clark with an incomplete form for his doctor to fill out. That paperwork was amended and resubmitted as required to obtain FMLA leave, and Officer Clark is not AWOL. If Officer Clark truly intended to slip out of the United States undetected, there are more clandestine methods than booking an international flight in his own name and using his own passport.
Earlier this month, court documents revealed more details regarding the relationship between Dean, 29, and Clark. Clark told homicide investigators he had “a sexual relationship” with Dean that was “off-and-on over the last six or seven years, and that he believes he is the father of Dean’s unborn child, Baby Dean.”

The warrants indicate Clark “insisted Dean have an abortion.” After interviews and statements with Dean’s co-workers at the Kyle Police Department, investigators learned “Dean had communicated to these employees if she turned up dead, Clark would be responsible.”

 

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