An arrest warrant affidavit is shedding light on how Dallas police managed to identify and arrest a suspected serial killer who allegedly stabbed three women to death.
Police reportedly used the suspect’s own cellphone data to link him to the deaths of Kimberly Robinson, Cherish Gibson, and an unidentified woman, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Oscar Sanchez-Garcia was arrested and booked at Dallas County Jail on Wednesday. Jail records suggest he is an unlawful migrant. He is currently being held on $6 million bond.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Robinson’s body was found on April 22 in Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4. Gibson’s body was discovered nearby on June 24, and the body of an unidentified woman was found less than 2 miles away by the Trinity River on July 22.
While investigating Gibson’s death, police realized Robinson’s nude body had been located about 200 yards away two months earlier. According to the affidavit, detectives saw Sanchez-Garcia’s truck in surveillance footage taken from a business near the area where Gibson’s body was found. A search of his cellphone records subsequently indicated that he was near both Gibson and Robinson when they were killed, per DMN.
The affidavit also stated that DNA evidence from sexual assault kits administered to the bodies of Gibson and Robinson suggested there was a singular suspect. However, it did not explicitly state that the DNA matched that of Sanchez-Garcia, who has been charged with three counts of murder.
Dallas has been seeing an increase in criminal homicides recently, with a year-over-year increase of 8.4% as of July 17. The Dallas Police Department is also facing a significant staffing shortage, with roughly 3,100 officers currently sworn in — far fewer than the estimated 4,000 needed to adequately police the city, per a City analysis.
Nearby cities like Fort Worth have implemented dedicated crime units in certain areas. As a result, Fort Worth’s downtown area has reportedly been experiencing much lower crime rates compared to Downtown Dallas.