Texas Rangers, local police help serve justice to serial child rapist
According to the release, on Oct. 28, 1992, a male suspect — now identified as Mundt — broke into a home in Rusk County and dragged a 7-year-old girl from her bed, sexually assaulting her in the backyard of the residence before fleeing. DNA collected during the investigation was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) — a national database to check for possible DNA matches between arrestees and unsolved cases nationwide — through the Texas Department of Public Safety's (DPS) Crime Laboratory Division. Despite the Henderson Police Department's continued investigation, a suspect was never identified, and no arrest was ever made.
Then, in December 2022, the DPS Crime Laboratory in Garland notified the Texas Rangers of a possible DNA match between the 1992 Texas case and a similar kidnapping and child sexual assault cold case from 1986 in Phoenix, Ariz. The Texas Rangers began coordinating with the Phoenix Police Department and determined DNA samples from the 1986 case were eligible for Advanced DNA testing and genealogy research through Bode Technologies.
On June 15, 2024, that testing and research identified two brothers as possible suspects. The first brother was eventually ruled out because his DNA was already in the CODIS database and would have previously produced a positive match. Investigators then obtained a DNA sample from the second brother, David Roy Mundt, for testing and comparison through DPS' Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program. The program is funded by the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance (DOJ/BJA), which provides investigative funding for agencies across the United States to further unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides, aiming to bring justice to the victims and their families.
Using SAKI grant funds, the sample collected from David Roy Mundt was sent to Bode Technologies for expedited DNA testing, which gave a positive match. On Aug. 7, 2024, the Texas Rangers, Texas Highway Patrol and Longview Police Department arrested Mundt at his home in Gregg County, Texas.
In August 2024, Mundt was indicted by a Rusk County grand jury on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child in the 1992 Texas case, and on April 25, 2025, he was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.
Cases like these highlight the importance of collaborative investigative work between the Texas Rangers and partner law enforcement agencies to bring justice and closure to victims and their families in unsolved crimes. The department would like to specifically thank the Henderson Police Department, Phoenix Police Department, Longview Police Department, DPS' Crime Laboratory in Garland and Bode Technologies for their dedication that ultimately led to the identification and arrest of the suspect.
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