The person responsible for sex crimes against two young girls in Texas and Arizona will now spend the rest of his life at the back of the bar. Almost 40 years after the first of the two crimes was committed, the Rusk County Grand Ju Judge awarded the sentence last week to 62-year-old David Roy Mant of Longview, Texas.
Back on October 28, 1992, a male suspect (now identified as Mundt) broke into Rusk Co.’s home, dragging the 7-year-old girl out of bed and sexually attacking her in the backyard of the residence before fleeing. The DNA collected during the investigation was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (Codis), a national database, through the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Crime Research Institute Division, to check for possible DNA matches between arrested and unresolved cases. Despite ongoing investigations by the Henderson Police Department, the suspect was never identified and arrested.
Then, in December 2022, Garland’s DPS Crime Institute informed the Texas Rangers of the possibility of a DNA match between the 1992 Texas incident and a cold case of a child sexual assault in 1986 in Phoenix, Arizona. technology.
On June 15, 2024, the test and study identified two siblings as possible suspects. The first brother was ultimately ruled out as his DNA was already included in the Codis database, which had previously produced a positive match. Investigators subsequently obtained DNA samples from their second sibling, David Roy Mundt, for testing and comparison through the DPS Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program. The program is funded by the Department of Justice/Judicial Office Support Office (DOJ/BJA). It funds investigations to agencies across the United States to further resolve unresolved sexual assaults and sexually related murders aimed at bringing justice to the victims and their families.
Samples collected from David Roy Mundt using Saki Grant Funds were sent to Bode Technologies for rapid DNA testing, which resulted in a positive agreement. On August 7, 2024, the Texas Rangers, Texas Highway Patrol and the Longview Police Department arrested Mundt at his home in Greg County, Texas.
In August 2024, Mundt was charged by Rusk Co.’s big ju trial for two counts of two worsening sexual assaults of a child in the 1992 Texas case, and on April 25, 2025 he was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
Cases like these highlight the importance of a joint investigation work between the Texas Rangers and their partner law enforcement agencies to bring justice and closure to victims and their families with unsolved crimes. The department is particularly grateful for the dedication of the Henderson Police Station, Phoenix Police Station, Longview Police Station, Garland’s DPS Crime Institute and Board Technology, which ultimately led to the identification and arrest of the suspect.
