DNA evidence links Texas inmate serving life sentence to 1986 cold case murder of Dallas woman
Ruby Battee, Marvin Lee Holloway (Source: Dallas Police Department)
DALLAS - DNA evidence has linked a man currently serving a life sentence for a 1988 murder to the sexual assault and slaying of a Dallas woman nearly 40 years ago, authorities said Wednesday.
Marvin Lee Holloway is now facing a charge of capital murder in the May 27, 1986, death of Ruby Battee.
Cold case solved
The backstory:
Battee was murdered and sexually assaulted after an unidentified suspect forcefully entered her residence. Investigators at the time found little evidence to identify a suspect, though viable DNA was located on Battee's clothing. Due to the limitations of forensic technology in the 1980s, no concrete evidence could be extracted from the samples at the time.
The breakthrough came in January 2025, when Dallas homicide detectives submitted previously untested items, including swabs from a sexual assault examination and clothing from the crime scene, to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification.
On April 13, 2026, detectives were notified that a partial male DNA profile had been developed and entered into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database. Less than a month later, on May 5, Dallas Police Detective Andrea Isom was notified of a CODIS match pointing to Holloway.
Holloway was arrested in 1988 for the murder of his co-worker, Emily Proctor, and was sentenced to life in prison in May 1989.
Following the DNA match, Isom obtained a search warrant for a new DNA sample from Holloway. On May 13, 2026, Isom and her partner, Detective David Grubbs, traveled to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility in Beeville, Texas, where Holloway is incarcerated.
In addition to collecting the DNA sample, the detectives questioned Holloway about Battee’s murder. Based on the new evidence, Isom secured a murder warrant for Holloway.
What they're saying:
"The Dallas Police Department houses some of the world’s best detectives," Dallas Police Chief Comeaux said in a statement. "They are meticulous, patient, and leave no stone unturned when it comes to investigating cold cases—especially ones where hope seems lost. I hope this serves as a reminder to victims as well as criminals who believe they have gotten away with their crimes. Justice will come."
The Source: Information in this article is from the Dallas Police Department and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.