"I know it took a long time, but it was one of those cases we never gave up on.". Daniel Leonard Wells, 57, was found hanged in his cell at the Escambia County Jail early Thursday morning, according to the sheriff's office. Pensacola, FL View Full Details Phone Numbers. The officers found the victims high heel shoes and her purse, containing her drivers license, a few blocks from the scene. He was carrying it around with him and he was never going to tell anyone what he did. Their mother, Laverne, lives in Jay with Renee. "This was a case that spanned three generations of detectives," said PPD Capt. Moreover, the winding roads and complex layout of the neighborhood convinced the cops that the killer hailed from the local community. Daniel departed this 2,006 square foot home in 2003. Daniel moved out of this 3.5 bath home in 2016. The 1985 murder of Tonya Ethridge McKinley, 23, will never go to trial. Tonya's older sister, Renee Ethridge, has run the "Tonya Ethridge McKinley Memorial" page on Facebook since 2012 in hopes of keeping her sister's case in the public eye. The victim was identified as Tonya, and an autopsy report stated she was assaulted with a blunt instrument, causing blunt-force trauma to her head. Wells, 57, was arrested by the Pensacola Police Department on March 18 for the 1985 murder of Tonya Ethridge McKinley. No suspects had been publicly named. McKinleys son Tim Davidson Jr. called Wells a coward, adding that the defendant didnt even wait until the trial even started.. His first hearing to face charges of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual battery had been scheduled for April 8, the Pensacola News Journal reported. Arrest: Pensacola police make arrest in 35-year-old cold case murder using familial DNA. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted, officials said. "Each time, evil won, just out of reach," police said of the 35-year gap. The drag marks and absence of blood at the scene indicated the murder had been committed somewhere else. She was half-nude, strangled to death and sexually assaulted. On Wednesday, 35 years later, Pensacola police made an arrest in the case: Daniel Leonard Wells, 57, is facing charges of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual battery. She was always his favorite," McCall said of this bittersweet day. She recounted how they danced, met with friends, and partied till the late night hours of New Years Eve. The authorities were able to establish a timeline when residents of the locality near the crime scene reported they were confident they did not see any corpse when they passed the parking lot at 2:00 am. At the time of the incident, Tonya Ethridge McKinley and her 17-month-old son, Timothy, had moved in with her cousin, Vanita Biasco, to Pensacola in Escambia County, Florida, in late 1984, following a split with the infants father. Email Address: See available information. (816) 468-.css-1y2reja{color:transparent;position:relative;z-index:12;text-shadow:0.1rem 0.1rem 0.6rem #089FE4;}LIYF. "Until today. UNLOCK PROFILE. Tonya's older sister, Renee Ethridge, has run the "Tonya Ethridge McKinley Memorial" page on Facebook since 2012 in hopes of keeping her sister's case in the public eye. We identified 991 records related to "Daniel Wells" in the state of Florida. Landlines (4) (850 . Weve your back if youre interested in finding out more about the case and the killers identity. Years later, thanks to advances in DNA testing, all of the evidence was identified as being from the same person, but no matches were ever found in the national DNA database. More than anything, Renee said, Tonya loved her then-18-month-old son, Timothy Davidson Jr., who family members affectionately referred to as Timbo when he was a child. . PENSACOLA Tonya Ethridge McKinley was 23 years old and had an 18-month-old son waiting for her at home when she was killed in the early-morning hours of Jan. 1, 1985, in Pensacola. Orlando police used the method in November 2018 to identify a suspect in the 2001 murder of Christine Franke and arrested Benjamin Holmes for first-degree murder. Daniel Leonard Wells, 57, was found hanged in his cell at the Escambia County Jail early Thursday morning, according to the sheriff's office. He was held without bond at Escambia County Jail and made his court appearance the following morning, where he professed his innocence. He got to be around his children and all those years he was out there, knowing what he did. "(Tonya) would fight hard for me she would fight for me and I've gotta fight for her," Renee told WKRG in a 2008 interview. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Wells was recently identified after a Virginia-based company working with the Pensacola Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement ran a DNA sample from the crime scene through an open-source genealogy database and identified several distant cousins of the suspect. "I didn't really know if this [arrest] would ever happen," the victim's relieved sister, Renee McCall, 62, a nurse, told NBC News on Thursday. Cold case investigators. According to the arrest report, there is a less than onein 700 billion chance that the DNA from the crime scene is a match to anyone other than Wells. He is being held.. He was carrying it around with him and he was never going to tell anyone what he did. Police "immediately stopped and recovered the cigarette butt," which had DNA matching semen taken off the victim's body, according to the warrant. Detectives in California used the same method to identify and arrest Joseph James DeAngelo, a suspect in the Golden State Killer cases, in April 2018. Investigators collected semen, head hair and pubic hair from Tonya's body and the crime scene. Detectives in Pensacola said "evil won" in the unsolved murder of Tonya Ethridge McKinley "until today.". Search for birth, death, marriage, divorce, US Census, and military records. Detectives said they spoke to dozens of friends and other revelers at Darryl's Bar & Grille, not far from where McKinley was found on Jan. 1, 1985. Tonya's body was found shortly before 5 a.m. on New Year's Day by a family living on Peacock Drive who were taking their sick dog to an all-night veterinarian clinic. For thirty-five years.. Around three and a half decades later,Pensacola police arrested Daniel Leonard Wells, 57, for Tonyas homicide. Daniel Leonard Wells, 57, is charged with homicide and sexual battery in the death of 23-year old Tonya . The case went nowhere for years, but officers said they used Parabon NanoLabs to help them break the case. Tonya and Renee's father, Joe, died in April 2000. Wells was booked into the Escambia County Jail on Wednesday and held without bail. The arrest on Wednesday is the oldest cold-case arrest in Pensacola history. They found a dead body and immediately notified the authorities. You may have heard that name before. Daniel Wells was arrested in connection with the 1985 murder of Tonya McKinley in Florida. Investigators collected semen, head hair and pubic from Tonya's body and the crime scene. 50s Location. The57-year-old pleaded not guilty on March 24 and was set for an arraignment in the first week of April. Court records viewed by Law&Crime show no attorney of record. He wasn't going to ever just say what he did on his own. Now, it seems like we just have a lot more unanswered questions.". Phone & Email (4) All Addresses (7) Family (3) A family tree was constructed that eventually led investigators to Wells. Vanita reminisced how the 23-year-old dotted over her child, taking the toddler everywhere she went and trying to provide for all his needs. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Emailus. She was half-nude, strangled to death and sexually assaulted. Detectives in California used the same method to identify and arrest Joseph James DeAngelo, a suspect in the Golden State Killer cases, in April 2018. PENSACOLA, Fla. A man who was arrested last month in a 35-year-old Florida Panhandle slaying has been found dead in jail from an apparent suicide, authorities said. The investigators had to wait for more than 35 years before they finally arrested the murderer with the help of cutting-edge forensic technology at their disposal. Wells was identified . Tonya Ethridge McKinley, then 23, had just left a New Year's Eve celebration before she was strangled and sexually assaulted in Pensacola, allegedly by Daniel Leonard Wells, now 57, according to police. and will make his first court appearance Thursday morning, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. More than anything, Renee said, Tonya loved her then-18-month-old son, Timothy Davidson Jr., who family members affectionately referred to as Timbo when he was a child. According to police reports, surveillance teams obtained his DNA from a discarded cigarette, which was tested and matched with DNA found at the crime scene. "She can finally rest.". The witness tampering charge was dropped after he pleaded no contest to the battery charge. Daniel Leonard Wells, age 50s, lives in Pensacola, FL. Daniel Leonard Wells, 57, is facing charges of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual battery in the 1985 murder of 23-year-old Tonya Ethridge McKinley. The price to rent a two bedroom unit in the zip code 32526 is around . He got to have a family. Pensacola Police announced Thursday that Daniel Leonard Wells, of Pensacola, was arrested Wednesday and charged with homicide and sexual battery. A family tree was constructed that eventually led investigators to Wells. Wells, who was living in Pensacola at the time of his arrest, was identified after Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based company working with the Pensacola Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, ran a DNA sample obtained from the scene of the crime through an open-source genealogy database and identified several different people believed to be distant cousins of the suspect. A video appearance was scheduled for court to take place at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. Tonya's body was found shortly before 5 a.m. on New Year's Day by a family living on Peacock Drive who were taking their sick dog to an all-night veterinarian clinic. From Haiti Through Liberty City to Top Federal Prosecutor in South Florida: the Unlikely Story of Markenzy Lapointe, Broward Judge to Allow Rapper Kodak Black to Enter Drug Treatment Program, Ex-UM Football Player Accused of Killing Teammate Granted $850K Bond. He was set for a court appearance in the case on April 8 at 8:30 a.m. "(Wells) is a coward he didn't even wait until the trial even started," said McKinley's son, Tim Davidson Jr., who was just 18 months old when his mother was murdered. Daniel and Jennifer have resided together in a single family house in Kansas City, MO. The arrest on Wednesday is the oldest . Lets begin then, shall we? Have a tip or story idea? The investigators initially could not find the cause of death or the identity of the body. Police arrested 57-year-old Daniel Leonard Wells (Escambia County Jail) A 57-year-old man has been arrested 35 years after the murder of a young mother in Florida. Jeffrey M Gallagher, Michelle L Phillips, and three other persons are also associated with this address. He was born on 1-06-1962. It is the oldest cold-case arrest in Pensacola history and the first time the familial DNA method has been used to solve a case in Northwest Florida. Contact info for Daniel Wells in Pensacola, Florida: Phone number, address lookup, email address, and social networking profiles on Spokeo, your people search engine for contact info & public records. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Daniel Leonard Wells, the defendant charged in her death, was found dead in his cell at the Escambia County Jail in Florida. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Daniel Leonard Wells' Arrest Photo (Image provided by Pensacola Police Department) Police needed him to discard something with DNA evidence, and eventually, an officer witnessed him tossing a cigarette butt. 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