1986 cold case: Man arrested for 16-year-old's murder in Conroe after DNA testing

Suspect arrested for 40-year-old Montgomery County murder case

Four decades after the death of a 16-year-old girl, a suspect has been identified as her killer. FOX 26's Mekenna Earnhart gives the timeline of the case and how the suspect was arrested 40 years later.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas - The suspect in the 1986 murder of a 16-year-old girl in the Conroe area was arrested after being identified decades later through advancement in DNA testing and turned himself in to authorities in Mexico.

Bobby Charles Taylor, Sr. is charged with the capital murder of Deanna Ogg, whose body was found in a wooded area off Old Houston Road. Taylor could face the death penalty if convicted.

Bobby Charles Taylor, Sr.

Death of 16-year-old Deanna Ogg

The backstory:

On Sept. 27, 1986, Ogg had been walking from Porter home to a convenience store near FM 1314 and Sorters Road when she disappeared.

Her body was found later that evening off a logging road about seven miles from where she was last seen. According to investigators, Ogg had been sexually assaulted, beaten, and stabbed to death.

Authorities say someone else was previously convicted in connection to her death, but that person was exonerated once DNA technology was available to prove their innocence.

For decades, the DNA sample collected from the original crime scene was kept in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) without producing a match.

DNA testing finds suspect

Why you should care:

In 2021, 16-year-old Ogg's case became eligible for the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). The program provides funding to help agencies resolve unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides.

With the use of SAKI grant funding, investigators used Forensic Genetic Genealogy testing conducted by Bode Technology. Through this, they were able to identify Bobby Charles Taylor, Sr. as the primary suspect in the1986 murder of 16-year-old Deanna Ogg.

Authorities described the scientific evidence against Taylor as overwhelming with a DNA match probability of one in 27 octillion—a number so vast that investigators noted there would need to be thousands of times the current population of Earth to find a second person with the same match.

At the time of his identification, Taylor was a fugitive on an unrelated felony charge, believed to be hiding in Mexico. Following a multi-agency effort involving the Texas Rangers and the FBI, Taylor surrendered to federal agents in Mexico City on May 4, 2026. He was subsequently extradited to Texas to face the capital murder charge.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office was able to secure charged for bond jumping on Taylor while the FBI helped with locating him. Taylor eventually turned himself in to FBI Special Agents in Mexico City on April 24.

He has since been extradited back to Texas and officially charged with murder.

What's next:

While an arrest has been made, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office emphasized that the investigation into Taylor’s past is ongoing.

"Investigators say they aren't done yet," the department said in a statement. "They want to know if there are other victims out there. If you knew Bobby Charles Taylor in the 80s, or worked with him, or have any connection at all, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office wants to hear from you."

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Squad.