.jpg) Richard Winfrey, Sr. On August 7, 2004, the body of Murray Burr, a high school custodial worker, was found on the floor of his trailer in Coldspring, Texas. He had been stabbed 28 times.
Richard Winfrey Sr., 49, and his two children, Richard Jr., 17, and Megan, 16, came under the suspicion of San Jacinto County law enforcement after a neighbor reported seeing they visit Burr’s home occasionally and because the elder Winfrey had a lengthy criminal history that included assault and involuntary manslaughter. At the time Burr was killed, the elder Winfrey had been out of prison on parole for nine days.
After no physical evidence could be linked to the Winfreys, investigators called in Keith A. Pikett, a self-trained dog handler from the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department, who claimed that his bloodhounds could help police link suspects to unsolved crimes through scent lineups.
Pickett’s dog’s smelled samples of Burr’s clothing and then smelled samples from the clothing of Richard Jr. and Megan and “alerted,” meaning, according to Pikett that the scent profiles of the two younger Winfreys was on Burr’s clothes.
No charges were brought, however, until two years later when the elder Winfrey was back in jail on unrelated charges. A cellmate told authorities that Winfrey had told him that some guns were taken from Burr’s home after he was killed. Police believed only someone who had committed the crime would have known about the guns.
All three Winfreys were placed in a scent lineup and Pikett’s dogs—named James Bond, Quincy and Clue—alerted to all three.
The father was the first to face trial in 2007. Based on the scent evidence, he was convicted and sentenced to 75 years in prison.
Megan Winfrey went on trial next, in 2008. Prosecutors presented the dog scent evidence as well as other circumstantial evidence -allegations that she shaved her pubic hair in order to thwart DNA testing of hair found at the crime scene, and testimony from teachers who said they had overheard her talking about Burr and his money. She was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
In 2009, when Richard Winfrey Jr. went on trial, his lawyer brought in an animal behaviorist who testified that the dogs were responding to Pikett’s cues, not indicating that they had found a scent. The younger Winfrey was acquitted after the jury deliberated for just 13 minutes.
In September 2010, Richard Winfrey Sr.’s conviction was set aside by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which ruled that the dog scent evidence was insufficient to sustain a guilty verdict. The court ordered Winfrey Sr. acquitted and he was released in October 2010.
In February 2013, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals acquitted Megan Winfrey of the murder, ruling that, as in her father's case, the dog scent evidence did not sufficiently prove her guilt. In April 2013, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a state petition for rehearing and Winfrey was released.
Megan Winfrey and her brother, Richard Jr. filed a federal lawsuit seeking compensation. Megan reached a settlement with Pikett for $1,000,000 in 2017. Claims against the remaining defendants were dismissed, but the lawsuit was reinstated and in 2020, a jury awarded Megan $250,000 and Richard Jr. $750,000.
– Maurice Possley |