SAN JACINTO COUNTY, Texas — A murder case that had gone cold was recently solved by investigators in San Jacinto County when 67-year-old Robert Dale Clary, of Shepherd, pleaded guilty to murder.
Clary killed Rhonda Darline Richardson, also of Shepherd, in May 2019, but the case wasn't solved until years after her death.
Her death
Richardson was found dead in a wooded area near her home. San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office deputies were the ones who discovered the gruesome crime scene.
Early in the investigation, Clary was identified as the primary suspect, but authorities didn't have enough evidence to formally charge him.
Case goes cold
Investigators weren't able to charge Clary by the end of 2020, but in 2022, a team of independent investigators with Cold Justice were brought in to review the case files and conduct new interviews. New digital evidence was discovered from both Richardson and Clary's phones that investigators said definitively linked Clary to the murder.
Clary's trial was slated to begin on April 29, 2024, but he pleaded guilty before it began. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Who was Richardson?
Richardson spent years as a corrections officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and worked at several different prisons. Most recently, Richardson worked at the Polunsky Unit, a prison near Livingston that houses Texas' death row inmates.
"Let this case be a reminder to all who prey on the residents of San Jacinto County," District Attorney Todd Dillon said. "Even if it takes years, what is done in the dark will be brought to the light. Rhonda was beloved by family, friends and coworkers; she was looking forward to being there for them in retirement. Clary took that future away from her, so it is only fitting that he surrenders his."
