WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A loyal Labradoodle named Titan, who did not leave the scene where his owner’s body was burned, helped Robinson police identify the victim’s charred remains, leading authorities to arrest Derek Joseph Daigneault, a prosecutor told jurors Monday.

McLennan County First Assistant District Attorney Ryan Calvert, in his opening statement, laid out a complex array of evidence that he and prosecutor Alyssa Killin said they planned to present in Daigneault’s murder trial.

Daigneault, 29, of Wichita, Kansas, is on trial in Waco’s 19th State District Court on an enhanced murder charge in the April 6, 2023 death of his cousin, 26-year-old Amanda Rose Reynolds.

Calvert told the jury that Reynolds was living with Daigneault in San Marcos at the time and neither had any connection to McLennan County.

Reynolds was shot in the head, his body was stuffed into a large plastic storage container and set on fire in the new Robinson subdivision at Heston Circle, just off Greig Drive and east of Interstate 35.

Reynolds’ father, Randy Reynolds, a Nevada resident, opened prosecution testimony by telling jurors that his daughter expressed fear of Daigneault in late March. He told her to get away from him and that he would come to San Marcos when she was ready to help her pack and move. He said that was the last time he spoke to his daughter.

Robison police, firefighters and animal control officers tried to capture the white Labradoodle, which was barking at them and would not leave the scene of the fire that night, Calvert said. But he said the dog was difficult to find, and then a severe storm descended on the area as authorities tried to investigate the scene.

The next morning, a Robinson resident on Titan searching for his own lost dog came across a scene sitting where Reynolds’ body was found. The man opened his car door and Titan jumped inside.

The man called Robinson animal control officers, who tried to find the dog. Titan was microchipped and authorities were able to identify Reynolds as its owner, Calvert said.

Calvert apologized to the jury for the grisly crime scene photographs they would be exposed to during the trial.

In his opening, defense attorney Jason P. Darling warned jurors not to be fooled by the state’s “dog and pony” show, which he likened to “smoke and mirrors.” He said there may be incriminating evidence against Daigneault, but there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime scene and his cousin’s murder, and he urged jurors to keep an open mind.

Calvert showed the jury photos from surveillance video showing Daigneault purchasing a large storage container, a shovel and a gas can at a Walmart in San Marcos. The Titan’s head could be seen sticking out of the passenger side window as Reynolds backed out of the store’s parking lot in his Honda Accord. Reynolds was not seen in the store video.

Two days later, a license plate reader in Wichita, Kansas, seized Reynolds’ car, and law enforcement officers across the state were keeping an eye on the Honda, Calvert said. A police officer in Wichita noticed the car and tried to pull it over. But before the officer turned on the cruiser’s emergency lights, Daigneault sped away. leading officers on a 30-minute chase through the city Calvert said he sometimes reached speeds of 100 mph.

He crashed the car into another vehicle and crashed into a grocery store, which was also recorded on video. Officers eventually arrested him after finding him hiding on a bottom shelf in the canned goods aisle, Calvert said. Authorities also found what was determined to be the murder weapon in Reynolds’ car.

Daigneault was sentenced to just over nine years in prison for fleeing police in Wichita and other miscellaneous charges. The murder charge against him in McLennan County was increased due to a 2013 conviction for aggravated robbery in Kansas.

If convicted of murder, the enhanced charge would increase the minimum prison sentence Daigneault faces from five to 15 years. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The prosecution’s testimony will continue on Tuesday morning.

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