Dallas Police Department and Plano Police Department logos are pictured against a police lights background | Image by Dallas Police Department/Plano Police Department/web
Dallas and Plano police honored two detectives after their joint DNA work helped solve two decades-old child sexual assault cases tied to the same suspect.
The Dallas Police Department said Detective DeAngelis and Plano Police Detective Benzick helped identify Nicholas Carney through forensic investigative genetic genealogy after DNA evidence linked a 1991 Plano case to an unsolved Dallas case.
In 2023, Benzick revisited the Plano case and contacted DeAngelis. The two detectives then worked through old evidence, witness leads, and DNA records to develop Carney as a suspect, according to DPD Beat.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, a Collin County jury convicted Carney in connection with the 1991 Plano case, and a judge sentenced him to life in prison. The Collin County District Attorney’s Office announced the sentence in January.
DPD said the investigation gave the victims and their families long-awaited closure after the cases had remained unsolved for years.
Detective DeAngelis was awarded the Super Sleuth Award during the annual Collin County Crime Victims Luncheon on April 22, according to DPD Beat.
