Dennis Dowthitt

Case record: Dennis Thurl Dowthitt

Timeline

• June 13, 1990 — Gracie Purnhagen (16) and Tiffany Purnhagen (9) were last seen by their mother; the girls later went to and were seen leaving a bowling alley in the company of Dennis Thurl Dowthitt and his son Delton Dowthitt (16).
• October 16, 1991 — Dennis Thurl Dowthitt was indicted in the 221st District Court of Montgomery County, Texas, for the capital offense of murdering more than one person during the same criminal transaction and, in a second count, for murder in the course of committing aggravated sexual assault.
• October 7, 1992 — After being tried before a jury upon a plea of not guilty, the state abandoned the first count of the indictment, and the jury found him guilty of the second count.
• October 9, 1992 — Following a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed Dowthitt’s punishment at death.
• June 26, 1996 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction and sentence in a published opinion.
• October 16, 1996 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied rehearing, and Dowthitt did not petition the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.
• August 19, 1997 — Dowthitt filed an application for a state writ of habeas corpus, as well as a later supplemental application.
• September 16, 1998 — After the state trial court entered detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending that relief be denied, both applications were denied by the Court of Criminal Appeals in an unpublished order.
• April 19, 1999 — Dowthitt filed a petition for writ of certiorari from that decision which was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court.
• December 30, 1998 — Dowthitt filed a petition for habeas corpus relief in federal district court after obtaining appointment of counsel and a stay of execution.
• January 27, 2000 — After conducting an evidentiary hearing on Dowthitt’s claim of actual innocence, Federal Judge Nancy Atlas found that Delton testified “clearly, unequivocally, and credibly” and issued an 89-page opinion rejecting Dowthitt’s claims and denying habeas relief.
• October 16, 2000 — The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied permission to appeal in a published opinion.
• November 10, 2000 — The Fifth Circuit court denied rehearing.
• February 8, 2001 — Dowthitt filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court.
• March 6, 2001 — The U. S. Supreme Court denied certiorari review.
• March 7, 2001 — Dowthitt was executed by lethal injection in Texas.

Background

Dennis Thurl Dowthitt was condemned for raping and fatally slashing and stabbing Gracie Purnhagen, 16, in an attack in which Tiffany Purnhagen, 9, also was strangled. Dowthitt was executed on March 7, 2001. He was 55 at execution.

Dowthitt declined requests for interviews during his stay on death row, and his appeals maintained his claim of innocence. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied his clemency request by an 18-0 vote. The U.S. Supreme Court denied his appeal and declined a request from his lawyer to review the case again.

The offence

On the evening of June 13, 1990, Gracie Purnhagen (16) and Tiffany Purnhagen (9) were picked up at a bowling alley parking lot by Delton Dowthitt (16), Gracie’s ex-boyfriend, and his father, Dennis Thurl Dowthitt. The group went to an isolated area/woods in south Montgomery County.

Delton testified that Dowthitt suggested stopping and drinking beer, and that Dowthitt drove the group to an isolated area and parked. According to Delton, Gracie and Delton went behind Dowthitt’s pickup truck and began kissing while Dowthitt and Tiffany were at the front.

Tiffany later came to the back of the truck looking frightened, said that Dowthitt was trying to scare her, and whispered to her sister. There was some indication that Dowthitt had tried to sexually assault Tiffany. Dowthitt came to the back of the truck with a knife and said he had made a mistake and that, “We've got to get rid of them.” Delton said “no,” but Dowthitt pushed Gracie to the ground and cut her throat. Dowthitt ordered Delton twice to “do it.”

Delton strangled Tiffany until she fell to the ground, then got a rope and tied it around her neck. Meanwhile, Dowthitt got Delton’s beer bottle off the back of the truck and proceeded to sexually assault Gracie with it. Dowthitt told Delton to join in sexually assaulting Gracie, but Delton refused. Dowthitt cut Gracie’s throat again and gave Delton the knife; Delton pocketed the knife, carried Tiffany into the woods, and then helped Dowthitt carry Gracie. Dowthitt threw the bottle in the back of the truck.

A separate account recorded that Dennis Dowthitt had attempted to molest Tiffany while Delton and Gracie were outside, that Tiffany screamed and bolted, that Dowthitt chased her by telling his son they had to kill the girls, and that Dowthitt attacked Gracie by first unsuccessfully trying to rape her, then cutting her throat, sexually assaulting her with a beer bottle, and stabbing her in the chest.

Gracie’s body showed evidence of sexual assault consistent with the size of a beer bottle, and she had been conscious when the assault occurred. Tiffany was killed by ligature strangulation. Gracie died from trauma to the neck involving bleeding.

Investigation

Two witnesses saw Dowthitt at his auto shop in Humble and noticed that his shirt had blood on it.

Police received a tip that Delton Dowthitt told a friend about the crime. Four days after Gracie and Tiffany’s bodies were discovered, Delton was arrested in Louisiana.

When Delton was arrested, he initially took the blame for both murders and sought to conceal Dowthitt’s involvement. Delton later explained that Dowthitt had threatened him, as well as his mother and sisters, and that Delton believed that as a juvenile his punishment would be less severe.

Delton led police to the place where he said his father had disposed of the knife. Police also found a bloody bottle and rope at Dennis Dowthitt’s used car business.

A medical examiner later testified that Tiffany was killed by ligature strangulation and that Gracie was killed by trauma to the neck involving bleeding. Gracie’s body showed evidence of sexual assault consistent with the size of a beer bottle and that she had been conscious when the assault occurred.

Fingerprint evidence was presented at trial, and Dowthitt’s fingerprint was found on a beer bottle covered with Gracie Purnhagen’s blood. One account recorded that a fingerprint matched Dennis Dowthitt’s left index finger. DNA evidence was also presented at trial.

Arrest

Delton Dowthitt was arrested in Louisiana. The record states that he was arrested after the bodies of Gracie Purnhagen and Tiffany Purnhagen were discovered in a wooded area in south Montgomery County.

After the initial responsibility taken by Delton, Dowthitt was arrested for the murder of Gracie Purnhagen.

Trial

Indictment and trial findings

The state abandoned the first count of the indictment after trial began. The jury found Dowthitt guilty of the second count: murder in the course of committing aggravated sexual assault.

The state presented evidence that Dowthitt and his son picked up Gracie and Tiffany on June 13, 1990 in a bowling alley parking lot.

Evidence regarding the victims

Gracie Purnhagen and Tiffany Purnhagen were last seen by their mother on June 13, 1990. They had been given money to walk the short distance to a movie theater and go out to eat. Later in the evening, the girls were seen in the company of Dowthitt and his son Delton.

A witness recounted seeing Gracie and Tiffany leaving a bowling alley and Gracie indicating that she was being picked up by her boyfriend, Delton.

Delton’s plea agreement and testimony

Delton pled guilty to the murder of Tiffany Purnhagen and agreed to testify in exchange for a 45-year sentence and the dismissal of the charge of the capital murder of Gracie. Delton’s lawyer testified that Delton told him from the beginning, even before the plea agreement, that Dowthitt was involved.

In Delton’s testimony at trial, Dowthitt sexually assaulted Gracie with a beer bottle and cut her throat, while Delton strangled Tiffany with a rope. Delton testified that he refused to join in sexually assaulting Gracie.

Dowthitt’s statements and defense position

Dowthitt initially said he knew nothing about the killings but later admitted to being at the scene of the crime. At trial and on appeal, he contended that his son committed both murders.

Punishment phase testimony and allegations of prior abuse

During the punishment phase, two of Dowthitt’s daughters, Donna and Darla, testified.

• Donna testified that when she was four or five years old, Dowthitt had touched her inappropriately, and that when she was 15, Dowthitt touched her again and asked if she remembered what had happened when she was a little girl. Donna left immediately and did not continue living with Dowthitt.
• Darla testified that she went camping with Dowthitt on the Sunday before the murders. When they were alone, Dowthitt threatened her with a knife and sexually assaulted her. She added that Dowthitt had been raping her since she was 11 and that he had also previously used a bottle and a broomstick on her. Darla also testified that Dowthitt offered to buy her a car if she would find him a young girlfriend.

Sentencing

On October 9, 1992, following a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed Dowthitt’s punishment at death.

Appeals

State and federal review timeline

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Dowthitt’s conviction and sentence on June 26, 1996. The Court of Criminal Appeals denied rehearing on October 16, 1996.

Dowthitt filed state habeas applications, and on September 16, 1998, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied them in an unpublished order.

On April 19, 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Dowthitt’s petition for certiorari.

After obtaining a stay of execution, Dowthitt filed a federal habeas petition on December 30, 1998. The federal district court conducted an evidentiary hearing on January 27, 2000, and Federal Judge Nancy Atlas rejected Dowthitt’s actual innocence claim and denied habeas relief.

The Fifth Circuit denied permission to appeal on October 16, 2000 and denied rehearing on November 10, 2000.

On February 8, 2001, Dowthitt filed a petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, and on March 6, 2001, the U.S.

Fifth Circuit decision on COA request and habeas issues

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied Dowthitt’s request for a certificate of appealability and vacated the stay of execution.

Dowthitt sought review of issues including actual innocence, ineffective assistance of counsel, admission of DNA evidence without a factual predicate, state misconduct, failure to instruct the jury on lesser-included offenses, and the district court’s limited evidentiary hearing.

The Fifth Circuit concluded that Dowthitt did not raise substantial doubt as to guilt in his actual innocence claim, noting that newly discovered evidence consisted solely of affidavits described as hearsay and one as unsigned. The court also concluded Dowthitt did not make a substantial showing of ineffective assistance of counsel. The Fifth Circuit also held the DNA-evidence due process claim was procedurally barred.

For state misconduct, the Fifth Circuit concluded that intimidation of potential defense witness David Tipps failed for COA purposes, that alleged chain-of-custody issues did not warrant a COA, that misrepresentation of DNA evidence to the jury did not demonstrate due process unfairness sufficient for COA, that failure to disclose felony indictment of Darla Dowthitt did not demonstrate materiality, and that mischaracterization of Dowthitt’s interrogation statement “I was there the whole time” did not support COA relief.

On lesser-included offenses, the Fifth Circuit concluded that there was no substantial showing that the case required instructions for lesser-included offenses.

On the evidentiary hearing issue, the Fifth Circuit concluded Dowthitt was not entitled to a federal evidentiary hearing under the relevant standard.

Outcome

Dowthitt was executed by lethal injection in Texas on March 7, 2001.

At execution, Dowthitt confessed and apologized to the Purnhagen family in the execution chamber.

He said:

“I am so sorry for what y'all had to go through. I am so sorry about. I can't imagine losing two children. If I was y'all, I would've killed me. I am really sorry. I really am.”

He also said:

“Gracie was beautiful and Tiffany was beautiful. You had some lovely girls and I am sorry. I don't know what to say.”

In another quoted statement during the execution, he said:

“I got to go sister, I love you. Y'all take care and God bless you.”

He further said:

“All right warden, let's do it.”

Dowthitt was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. in one account, and another account stated he was pronounced dead seven minutes after the lethal dose began.

Delton Dowthitt pled guilty to the murder of Tiffany Purnhagen and received a sentence of 45 years in exchange for testifying against his father and for dismissal of the capital murder charge relating to Gracie. In later history, Delton was sentenced to an additional 6 years for attempting to escape, with eligibility for parole described in competing accounts as 2002 and 2005.

Aftermath

After the execution, the Purnhagen family indicated they would pursue efforts related to Delton Dowthitt’s parole.

A quoted statement from Linda Purnhagen described her response to Dowthitt’s admission at execution:

“As he was going to meet God, he finally admitted what he did.”

A quoted statement attributed to Linda Purnhagen also described her broader reaction:

“This particular chapter has ended. That chapter is just beginning.”

Another quoted statement attributed to Linda Purnhagen criticized death-penalty protesters:

“If they had gone through something like I have and still felt that way, then I could talk to them about it. If you haven't gone through it, you don't know what the heck you're talking about.”

Other details

Dowthitt was described as a used car salesman, and evidence included a bloody bottle and rope found at his used car business.

Two witnesses saw Dowthitt at his auto shop in Humble with blood on his shirt, and later a bottle, rope, and knife disposal locations were discussed in testimony and investigation.

Dowthitt’s habeas proceedings included an actual innocence evidentiary hearing in which Delton testified, and the district court credited Delton’s testimony as “clearly, unequivocally, and credibly.”

During execution-related reporting, Dowthitt requested food for his final meal, including:

• a dozen fried eggs,
• a loaf of bread,
• salad dressing,
• french fries,
• and three cartons of milk.