Capital murder, kidnapping and burglary charges have been filed against a previously-jailed man for the August 1, 2020 killing of a jogger in Plano.
29-year old Bakari Moncrief was previously a person of interest in the charges for the death of cancer researcher Sarmistha Sen.
Sen was found dead near the Chisolm Trail Park in Plano.
Moncrief had been arrested for burglary shortly after Sen's body was found. Police said a ring camera video from a nearby home showed Moncrief smashing the front door of a neighbor's house around the time of the murder. Investigators were able to get DNA from sweaty palm prints found on that neighbor's home. Sources say the results of tests came back Friday.
Moncrief was arrested for burglary and had been labeled a person of interest while the DNA tests were performed. His bond was already $10 million.
Sen, who was of Indian decent, was a wife, mother and cancer researcher at UT Southwestern in addition to being an avid jogger.
There had been some concern in the Indian community that this was a hate crime. But the arrest affidavit in the court file seems to point in another direction. One sentence in the arrest affidavit stands out that Moncrief recently had mental health issues which seems to hint this may not be a hate crime, after all.
Capital murder in Texas carries only two possible penalties, if there is a conviction: Life without parole or death by lethal injection.
It will be up to Collin County prosecutors to decide whether to seek the death penalty.
