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The murder of Rhonda Chantay Blankinship, a young resident of Brownwood, Texas, in May 2016, disrupted the peaceful community of Brown County. Tonight's NBC's Dateline episode, titled The Haunted House Confession, will show viewers the details of the murder and the investigation that finally led to the arrest of a young man named Ryan Riggs related to it.
This breakthrough came with the discovery of a new method to analyze the DNA evidence collected from the scene, which helped significantly in making progress in the case to find the young woman's killer. Tonight's Dateline episode looks into this investigation with exclusive interviews with Rhonda's loved ones, who share how they managed to get justice for her murder.
Before the episode airs, here are five chilling details from the case.
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5 key details about Rhonda Chantay Blankinship's murder
1) Rhonda Chantay Blankinship disappeared, and her remains were discovered in a haunted house
Rhonda Chantay Blankinship was born on November 19, 1990, and lived in Brownwood, Texas, with her family. She belonged to a deeply religious family and was actively involved in church activities. On May 13, 2016, she went out in the evening for a walk but never returned. Her family immediately alerted the police, and word of her disappearance quickly spread.
The Brown County community came together to search for Rhonda, and two days later, her body was discovered in an abandoned house about five miles from her neighborhood. The building was considered haunted by locals. The 25-year-old was found lying face down, wearing only a T-shirt and strands of hair, and a rubber bracelet was also discovered.
2) Autopsy revealed assault and murder
It was clear that this was a homicide case, and an autopsy confirmed that she had been strangled. The primary cause of her death was blunt force trauma to the head.
Moreover, DNA evidence consistent with sexual assault was also collected, and investigators found a shoe imprint on her chest and a blood-covered lawnmower at the scene of the crime.
3) DNA samples were collected to compare with the evidence
The police requested DNA samples from men in the community, but no matches were found with the evidence sample collected from the crime scene. They also uploaded the DNA profile into the CODIS system, but there was no match. Investigators questioned Rhonda's family and friends and even offered a $5,000 Crime Stoppers reward, but there was no positive response.
It was when a detective working on the case learned about DNA phenotyping and suggested using it that some headway could be made. This technology provides valuable details about the suspect's physical traits from the DNA evidence, which the police used to generate a digital sketch of what Rhonda Chantay Blankinship’s killer might look like.
4) Ryan Riggs was identified
The digitally generated image was shown to Rhonda Chantay Blankinship’s family, and one of her brothers immediately pointed out there was a strong resemblance with Ryan Riggs. The two were acquainted as neighbors and went to the same church. However, when the police went to Ryan's house, his family reported that he was missing.
On November 15, 2017, Ryan Riggs made a public confession at his church that he sexually assaulted and murdered Rhonda. He was taken by his parents and the pastor to the police, where he admitted that he had killed her.
5) Rigges confessed to the crime
Riggs said that he targeted Rhonda Chantay Blankinship because she was petite and he could overpower her. He had approached her while she was on a walk, they started talking, and he convinced her to get into his truck. Once she did so, he drove to a secluded spot where he s*xually assaulted her before taking her to the abandoned "haunted" house where he killed and dumped her body.
Riggs also claimed he had contemplated suicide but ultimately decided to confess as God allegedly spoke to him asking him to do so. His DNA sample was a confirmed match to the evidence found at the crime scene. Ryan Riggs was tried in court and sentenced to life in prison. He avoided the death penalty only because he had confessed to the crimes himself.
Catch the full case on tonight's Dateline episode on NBC.
