Summary
In January 1995, the parents of Mary Catherine Edwards, a "well-loved" Beaumont, Texas school teacher, went to her home to check on her. Mary lived alone, had not responded to calls and her parents were concerned. Upon arrival, they found she had been drowned in her bathroom. Beaumont detectives later determined that the Mary had been sexually assaulted before her murder. Through the years, investigators worked the case and all available leads. DNA from an unknown male was found at the crime scene and a STR profile was produced, however it returned no matches in a CODIS search. Traditional forensic DNA testing was used to exclude many people over the years and eventually all leads were exhausted and the case went cold.
The Texas Rangers Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program, working with Beaumont PD, lead the investigative effort leveraging family trees and public records to identify the unknown male from the crime scene. Eventually, the unknown man was identified as Clayton Foreman. Although he was not a person of interest in the original investigation, he knew the victim from high school. At this time, he has been arrested and charged with her murder.
Michael Vogen
Director of Case Management
Michael works with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada on “unsolvable“ cases that can benefit from advanced DNA testing methods. He helps these agencies use cutting edge DNA sequencing and new forensic techniques to develop investigative leads for their cases.