Where is Angela Samota’s killer, Donald Bess, now? Here is everything you need to learn about the serial rapist and killer.
Donald Andrew Bess Jr., often known as Donald Bess, has raped several women during his lifetime. He is also well-known for having raped and murdered Angela Samota. He was born on September 1, 1948, in Jefferson County, Arkansas.
On October 13, 1984, Angela Samota was killed after being assaulted in her residence, raped, and killed. Before DNA evidence was discovered in 2008 and charges were filed against a convicted rapist named Donald, who was later prosecuted and given the death penalty, the case remained unresolved.
Where Is Donald Bess Now? Angela Samota Case
Donald Andrew Bess Jr. remains on death row in Polunsky prison with no execution date. On the other hand, the body of his victim, Angela Samota, is interred in the Llano Cemetery in Amarillo, Texas.
The Dallas Police Department reinstated a squad to investigate cold cases in 2016. The investigation and the eventual identification of Samota’s killer were recreated in the Investigation Discovery episode “Betrayed: Co-ed Killer” from 2021.
The defendant was already serving a life term in prison at the time of the 2010 trial for the sex assault and murder of Angela Samota. He was already guilty of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping in 1978. So when he raped and killed Samota in 1984, the court found that he had already served 25 years of his 25-year jail term and was out on parole.
Bess received a life sentence for one count of aggravated rape, one count of aggravated kidnapping, and one count of sexual assault in Harris County, Texas, in 1985, in a case unconnected to Samota’s death.
Angela Samota Killer And Crime Scene Photos
On October 13, 1984, Angela Samota was slain after being assaulted in her residence, raped, and killed. But it took 24 years for Angela Samota to be found, and the case remained unresolved until 2008.
The police held an architect, 23 years old and residing in a Lower Greenville flat, under suspicion for a protracted period. He was the man that went out with Samota and a different female the night of the murder. According to reports, the victim’s boyfriend was also a suspect.
When Linda Crum, a Dallas police investigator at the time, was assigned the case in 2006, she used DNA evidence from blood, semen, and fingernail samples to attempt to identify people with criminal histories. The evidence in 2008 pointed to Donald Bess, who was on parole while serving a 25-year term at the time of Samota’s death.
Speaking about the crime scene, on October 23, 1984, the police arrived shortly after and broke down the door. As a result, they discovered Angela “Angie” Marie Samota dead, naked, and covered in blood on her bed. She had been stabbed and sexually assaulted 18 times, and an autopsy revealed that she died from wounds to her chest, which damaged her heart.
What Happened To Donald Bess?
Several women testified that Bess had also sexually assaulted them during the punishment phase of the Samota case trial in 2010 while Bess was being tried for the crime. The defendant’s ex-wife claimed in court that he had abused her and their child while they were still married. Three years after being married in 1969, they got divorced.
Bess was found guilty by the jury based on the DNA match and was given the death penalty on June 8, 2010. On March 6, 2013, the trial court’s decision was upheld, and Bess’s appeal was denied.
A certiorari petition was submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on August 13, 2013, and was rejected on January 13, 2014. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected an appeal that Bess had filed in April 2016, upholding the judgment of the Dallas County trial court.