TX TX - Marianne Wilkinson, 68, Tarrant County, 9 December 2007

[Jacqu777]

REFERENCE NUMBER: 138 - Unsolved
COMPANY: B
RACE: White
SEX: Female
CITY: North Richland Hills
COUNTY: Tarrant
RELATED YEAR: 2007

On December 9, 2007, Marianne Wilkinson, was enjoying a quiet evening with her husband of forty-six years, when the doorbell rang. When Marianne opened the door to greet the visitor, she was shot multiple times by an unidentified individual. Marianne died in her home as a result of the attack.

Marianne Wilkinson was born November 4, 1939 and was the mother to two children and grandmother to four. She graduated from SMU in 1961. Marianne was very active in her church, First Baptist Church of Keller, where she attended a bi-weekly prayer group and served on the social committee for her Sunday School class. She and her husband had been enjoying their retirement years by traveling.

Details - Unsolved Homicide

 

[annemc2]

This info is from 2017 but I thought I'd add it here. A DNA profile was collected but no match (yet).

Police have looked at three persons of interest, however. Their names are Dennis Taylor, Vincent Lane, and Willie Boley. Per our partners at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2013, "Taylor’s wife lived in a home with the same address number on a parallel cul-de-sac a block away from the Wilkinson home. She and Taylor were going through a divorce at the time of Wilkinson’s death."

For the first time, a DNA profile has been created for 2007 cold case murder involving 68-year-old woman

Detectives have always believed that the gunfire at Marianne Wilkinson's door was not meant for her.

www.wfaa.com

 

[ralyla]

The North Richland Hills police posted a memorial for Marianne Wilkinson and two children who died on the same day (different years). I was family friends with Luke and Bree's great-aunt. They were victims of a murder-suicide at the hands of their father. Websleuths post here.

Facebook

www.facebook.com

I am local to the area but had not heard of Marianne's case. I did some digging and this is what I could find as a timeline.

Note: Her daughter-in-law has a Justice for Marianne Facebook page with lots of sweet photos and memories.

2007: On December 9, 2007, Marianne Wilkinson, was enjoying a quiet evening with her husband of forty-six years, when the doorbell rang. When Marianne opened the door to greet the visitor, she was shot multiple times by an unidentified individual. Marianne died in her home as a result of the attack. (DPS TX)

2009: A new fingerprint technology helps the case: "The technique enables scientists to detect fingerprints on spent bullets and shell casings, even when the print had been wiped off. It works by detecting the minute corrosion of metal caused by sweat, which corrodes the metal in the shape of the fingerprint." Bond, the forensic scientist, met with NRH PD and was able to extract a fingerprint from the gun that could lead to a profile of who loaded the gun.

This article also brings to light new information on who may have been the intended target - a neighbor whose address number was the same as Wilkinson but on a different cul-de-sac one block over. This neighbor was going through a bitter and contested divorce that involved a trucking company and large amounts of money.

Investigators tracked the guns history to a deceased man who had no connection to the murder, and the gun had changed owners several times after. They are still trying to determine who owned the gun at the time of the murder. (CNN)

2013: Persons of interest are named. "Police have looked at three persons of interest, however. Their names are Dennis Taylor, Vincent Lane, and Willie Boley. Taylor’s wife lived in a home with the same address number on a parallel cul-de-sac a block away from the Wilkinson home. She and Taylor were going through a divorce at the time of Wilkinson’s death." Boley is believed to be an employee of Taylor. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

2013 (December): Willie Boley, a person of interest in the case, is shot and killed by his girlfriend in Oklahoma. The girlfriend claimed self defense and stated Boley was beating her at the time she discharged the weapon. He had a previous allegations of domestic battery on an ex-wife in Palestine, Texas. (KOCO NEWS)

2017: 10-year anniversary of Marianne's death. No new leads. (WFAA)

2019: A DNA profile was developed based off the 2009 fingerprint impression. There have been no positive hits in any police databases as of 2019. (WFAA)

In the anniversary post today they state they are steadfast in continuing the investigation. If you have any information about this case, please contact the North Richland Hills Police Department at 817-427-7000 or Texas Crime Stoppers at 1-800-252-TIPS.