A man from North Texas admits to committing a string of rapes dating back almost twenty years.
Jeffery Wheat, 51, received life sentences for a case in Collin County and a case in Tarrant County, along with 30 years for a case in Dallas County and 20 years for a case in Denton County.
Wheat has a combined total of four instances, with one reported in Dallas, Collin, Tarrant, and Denton counties. In 2021, he was arrested for assaulting a woman in 2003 after forensic genealogy confirmed his identity as the suspect.
Wheat was at the center of a nationwide search following forensic technology connecting him to the four unsolved cases. For the first time, technology known as Forensic Genetic Genealogy was utilized to identify a perpetrator in Collin County. Genetic data from direct-to-consumer companies is utilized to identify a suitable match.
In 2003, Wheat’s initial incident occurred in Arlington when he entered a woman’s home at night and attacked her. In 2011, there were three additional cases in Plano, Coppell, and Corinth, all concerning women in their 50s or 60s who belonged to the same sorority.
The sorority had utilized a credit card processing company where Wheat was employed.
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On Tuesday morning, Wheat agreed to a plea deal offered by prosecutors in the four counties and received a life sentence in prison. Three women shared their victim impact statements.
One individual, the daughter of a victim of Wheat, shared how he took away her mother’s self-respect, self-value, and sense of genuine affection. However, she expressed satisfaction with the outcome, knowing that he would be incarcerated for life.
“Each woman’s pain was deeply felt and needed to be voiced,” she expressed. “Speaking on behalf of each woman was a challenging yet rewarding experience. And it was truly empowering. Ensuring that justice was served was crucial.
During Wheat’s appearance in Collin County, judges from Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant Counties all convened via Zoom to accept his plea and sentence him. Both sentences will be served at the same time.