LUFKIN, Texas — A Lufkin man was arrested earlier this month after DNA connected to a 16-year-old cold murder case.
Jerry Lee Gardner, 44, was arrested and charged with capital murder on Oct. 4 at his Lufkin home in connection with the 2008 death of Raymond Hernandez. He is currently in the Grand Prairie Detention Center with a $1 million bond.
In August 2008, the Grand Prairie Police Department to help the fire department with a fire in the 2600 block of Channing Drive. Inside that home, they found Hernandez, 45, dead and his cause of death was determined to be a homicide, according to a news release. In November of that year, DNA from a possible suspect was collected, but there was no matching DNA at the time.
In 2022, the Grand Prairie Police cold case detectives worked with the Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers to utilize the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, and in September of this year there was a genealogical search. Detectives received a DNA sample and confirm the lead, which led to Gardner's arrest.
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