DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas Police Department announced that detectives have solved the 1986 murder and sexual assault of a Dallas woman through modern DNA testing and investigative work nearly four decades after the crime occurred.
Authorities said Ruby Battee was murdered and sexually assaulted on May 27, 1986, after an unidentified suspect forcibly entered her residence.
Investigators said only limited evidence capable of identifying the attacker was recovered at the time, including viable DNA found on Battee’s clothing. However, forensic technology available during the 1980s was unable to develop enough evidence to identify a suspect.
In January 2025, Dallas homicide detectives submitted previously untested evidence, including swabs from the sexual assault examination and clothing recovered at the crime scene, to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for advanced testing.
On April 13, 2026, detectives were notified that analysts developed a partial male DNA profile that was entered into the national Combined DNA Index System, commonly known as CODIS.
According to investigators, Detective Andrea Isom received notification May 5 that the DNA profile matched Marvin Lee Holloway, a convicted offender currently incarcerated with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Police said Holloway had previously been arrested in 1988 for the murder of his co-worker, Emily Proctor.
Detective Isom and Detective David Grubbs later traveled to Beeville on May 13 to obtain a DNA sample from Holloway and interview him regarding Battee’s killing.
Following the new DNA evidence and investigation, detectives secured a capital murder warrant against Holloway.
Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux praised the homicide unit’s persistence in solving cold cases.
“They are meticulous, patient, and leave no stone unturned when it comes to investigating cold cases—especially ones where hope seems lost,” Comeaux said.
Police said the arrest brings long-awaited answers and closure to Battee’s family nearly 40 years after her death.
