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Fresh probe into murder of Joel Osteen's great-aunt Johnnie Daniel who was found bludgeoned to death
Authorities in Texas are reopening the investigation into the murder of megachurch pastor Joel Osteen's great aunt nearly two decades after she was found bludgeoned to death inside her home.
Johnnie Daniel, 84, the aunt of Osteen's mother, Dodie Osteen, was found dead in her home in eastern Harris County in August 2006 - with her head smashed in and a copy of the New Testament and a pencil on her chest, Chron reports.
A claw hammer in a bloody towel lay beside the elderly woman.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office charged Edric Wilson, then 29, with capital murder for her death three months later - pointing to DNA evidence they said linked him to the scene.
But after he spent 18 years languishing in state mental facilities and prisons without a trial, prosecutors last year determined the DNA test result concluding Wilson must have been the murderer was weaker than they originally thought, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Wilson was ultimately released from prison in March of this year, and his case was dismissed on April 3.
Now, Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland said Daniel's 'capital murder case from 2006 is open and very much active, and is currently assigned to our Homicide Unit.
'The Harris County Sheriff's Office remains steadfast in its commitment to securing justice for the Daniel family,' he added.
The elderly woman's brutal murder shocked her community, with one neighbor telling ABC 13 that 'It's sad someone would do that to an old, defenseless lady.'
A family member also said Daniel was 'kind hearted and just a wonderful lady,' with Dodie - the now 91 year old mother of the famed Lakewood Church pastor - releasing a statement at the time describing her aunt as a 'kind and generous woman who lived her life with mercy, compassion and a deep love for the Lord.
'She was dearly loved by me and my family and will be greatly missed.'
Police also struggled to figure out what may have led to the elderly woman's beating, as it did not look like anyone had forced their way into the house or had stolen anything.
Authorities were then left without answers for weeks, until officers arrested Wilson for an unrelated stabbing of a neighbor in September and he was required to provide a DNA sample.
That sample was then entered into a national database, and was compared to DNA found under Daniel's fingernails.
Forensic analysts then determined that the chances the DNA found under the victim's fingernails belonged to someone other than Wilson was just one in 73.1 million, the Chronicle previously reported.
But when prosecutors decided in 2023 to re-examine the cases of people who have been languishing in prison for decades, they re-tested the DNA sample - and found that the probability the genetic material under Daniel's nails belonged to someone other than Wilson was just one in 15,830.
Experts said that could indicate an 'accidental match.'
The DNA had not been re-examined earlier because Wilson's case was perpetually put on hold after he was found 'incompetent to stand trial in 2009.'
From there, the Chronicle reports, Wilson was caught in an 'endless loop' of psychological assessments and waitlists for treatments beds while his attorneys argued over his competency to stand trial.
Throughout that time, there was no incentive to re-examine the evidence against him.
'I think there were failures at every level,' said Sean Teare, who was sworn in as Harris County District Attorney a few months after the charges against Wilson were dropped.
'It's a tragic case and the thing that it spells out is people can fall through the cracks.'
His office has now said it will 'assess the case and determine whether or not anyone should face charges' should the Harris County Sheriff's Office uncover new evidence.
In the meantime, Wilson remained on parole after pleading guilty to the unrelated aggravated assault charge - which a judge noted he has already served 20 years behind bars for.
