On September 27, 1986, 16-year-old Deanna Ogg left her home in Porter, Texas. Three hours later, just after 7 p.m., teenagers riding three-wheelers found her body about eight miles from her home in a secluded wooded area near an old logging road in Montgomery County, Texas.
A pathologist concluded the cause of death was blunt trauma to the head and multiple stab wounds to the neck. The victim also had been sexually assaulted.
Twenty-one-year-old Roy Criner, whose lawyer would later describe as “nearly retarded,” became a suspect after allegedly bragging to friends that he had picked up and had sex with a young woman and “had to get rough with her.”
On October 29, 1986, Criner was charged with murder, but in September 1987 that charge was replaced with one count of aggravated sexual assault.
In April 1990, Criner went to trial in Harris County Criminal District Court. The Harris County medical examiner testified that Ogg died from a fractured skull and multiple stab wounds to her neck, possibly made with a screwdriver. Sperm was found on vaginal and rectal smears. There was no evidence of trauma to the vaginal area and the medical examiner could not determine whether the sexual intercourse was consensual.
Former Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Charles Self testified that he was involved with seizing a brown flat-bed truck with dual rear wheels belonging to Jesse Pitts, who was Criner’s boss, on September 30, 1986. The deputy testified that he found a small flat-head screwdriver sticking in an air conditioning vent. The screwdriver was never subjected to any analysis.
Maurita Howarth, a forensic serologist with the Texas Department of Public Safety, testified that she analyzed blood, semen, and hair samples taken from the victim's body and Criner. Howarth analyzed hair taken from combing of the victim's pubic hair and other hair taken off of the victim's body, as well as hair taken from the truck. Howarth testified that none of the hair in the truck belonged to Ogg and none of the hair found on Ogg came from Criner. Howarth further testified that serology testing on semen from vaginal and rectal swabs showed one blood type, which Criner and Oggs shared. The analyst said Criner and 40 percent of men had the same blood type. This testimony was incorrect, however, because when testing did not detect blood types foreign to the victim, no potential semen donor can be excluded because the victim’s blood group markers could be “masking” the perpetrator’s. The failure to inform the jury that 100 percent of the male population could be included and that no one could be excluded was misleading.
Other physical evidence included a Marlboro cigarette found near the victim’s body, a large clump of blonde hair found clutched in Ogg’s right hand, and her clothing.
Testimony from Ogg’s family established that Ogg had planned to attend a dance that Saturday, September 27, 1986, with her grandmother and her uncle, who lived about 30 minutes away. Unable to get a ride, Ogg left home on foot.
Virginia Mathes, a clerk at a convenience store in Porter, Texas, testified that Ogg came into the store and purchased cigarettes sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on September 27. Mathes testified that Ogg said that she was with some friends and was going to a party in Conroe, Texas.
The remainder of the prosecution’s case relied on testimony from Michael Ringo, Terry Dale Hooker, and Jeffrey Pitts.
Ringo testified that he and Hooker were with Criner between 10 and 11 p.m. on the night of the crime. Ringo said Criner told him that he had picked up a drunk woman about 20 years old who was hitchhiking, and took her behind a school where the girl began crying. Ringo said Criner said he pulled the girl down by her hair. At that point, Ringo said he walked away from Criner, but returned seconds later to hear Criner say, “I’m going to kill you,” which Ringo interpreted as words Criner had said to the girl. Ringo said Criner did not give any date or timeframe as to when these events with the girl took place; nor did Criner speak of having had non-consensual sex with anyone. The defense noted that Ogg was 16 and that toxicology testing had shown she had no alcohol or other intoxicating substances in her blood.
Hooker testified Criner said that he had done something bad, but it turned out all right, and that he had gone to a store in New Caney, Texas, which was about six miles from Porter, where he saw a girl walk off after an argument with friends. Hooker said Criner said he picked up the girl and drove behind the school where he made the girl perform oral sex, then grabbed a screwdriver off the dash board or out of the glove compartment and told her that if she tried to escape, he would kill her. Hooker said Criner said he drove the girl to Humble, Texas, about 11 miles southwest of Porter and kicked her out of the truck.
During cross-examination, Hooker said that Criner said the events had occurred on a Friday, which was the night before the crime. Hooker also said that Criner never said he killed the girl.
Pitts, whose family had a logging business which employed Criner, said that on September 27, 1986, he and Criner and Criner’s brother, Richard, were working at a logging site and that he and Richard Criner left the work area in the woods at about 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. to get a replacement part for a bulldozer, while Criner remained at the site.
Pitts testified when he and Richard Criner arrived back at the logging site at about 7:30
p.m. or 8:00 p.m., Criner said that he had picked up a blond-haired girl; that he took the girl down the road, threatened her with a screwdriver, and had some words. Pitts said Criner told him that he had gotten the screwdriver from the air-conditioner vent in the truck; that he had raped the girl and had left her there.
Pitts testified that several days later, when he showed Criner a news article about Ogg's murder, Criner said he did not kill her, but had picked up the girl and brought her to her grandmother's house which he said was in New Caney. Over defense objection, Pitts was allowed to testify that a week or two after the murder, Criner said he hated women because his mother had abandoned him at a young age.
Pitts was impeached by his statements to police and his grand jury testimony which essentially said that Criner was at the logging site from 10 or 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on the day of the crime.
The defense called Texas Ranger Stan Oldham to testify that he had been informed by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department that the screwdriver found in the truck had a Phillips head.
On April 26, 1990, the jury convicted Criner of aggravated sexual assault. He was sentenced to life in prison. He was allowed to remain free on bond while the case was appealed.
In September 1991, the Ninth Circuit Texas Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, vacated the convictions and ordered the case dismissed for insufficient evidence. “We hold that no trier of fact, rational or otherwise, could have culled from any of the evidence presented the essential aggravating element of Aggravated Sexual Assault; that being that appellant caused serious bodily injury to the victim by striking her with some unknown blunt instrument,” the court declared. “Where was any evidence from the medical examiner or any other witness as to how the victim could have sustained such an injury, or, more importantly, how the appellant caused or could have caused the head injury to the victim? In short, there was no evidence for a rational trier of fact to latch onto in order to find that the aggravating element of the offense had indeed been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The prosecution appealed and in December 1991, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reinstated the conviction. This court agreed with the dissenting opinion in the Ninth Circuit ruling that the majority had misapplied the law. In July 1994, Criner was arrested and imprisoned.
In June 1997, the defense and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office agreed to have evidence submitted for DNA testing. In August 1997, Criner’s attorney, Mike Charlton, filed a state law writ of habeas corpus requesting an evidentiary hearing based on DNA testing that excluded Criner as the source of the sperm found in the swabs from the victim. Despite independent testing requested by the prosecution that confirmed the initial exclusion of Criner, the prosecution opposed the defense’s request for a writ of habeas corpus.
In January 1998, Montgomery County Judge Michael Mayes recommended that the writ be granted and that Criner be granted a new trial. In May 1998, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in an unpublished ruling, denied the writ. The court found the DNA test results insufficient because Criner could have been wearing a condom or failed to ejaculate, though these scenarios had never been presented. Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller said that the semen could have resulted from consensual sex prior to the killing, though this theory, as well, had never been presented.
Criner then sought post-conviction DNA testing on the cigarette found next to Ogg’s body. The DNA recovered from the cells on the cigarette filter contained a mixture of DNA from at least three individuals, and at least one was a male and at least one was a female. Criner was eliminated as a contributor of cellular material on the filter.
Subsequently, Forensic Science Associates, a private DNA laboratory in California, tested the rectal swab and the cigarette butt wrapper and found Ogg’s DNA and unknown male DNA. Criner was excluded as the source of the male DNA. Since the male DNA on the swab and the cigarette wrapper was the same, Criner argued that the person who had sex with Ogg smoked a cigarette with her and likely was her killer.
In July 2000, based on this testing, Judge Mayes concluded that Criner was innocent and that he would sign a request for a pardon. The recommendation was also signed by Montgomery County District Attorney Mike McDougal.
In August 2000, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously to release Criner. On August 14, 2000, Criner was released after Texas Governor George W. Bush granted a pardon saying "that credible new evidence raises substantial doubt about the guilt of Roy Criner and that he should receive a pardon."
Criner subsequently received a lump sum compensation payment of $130,000 plus a $2,200 monthly annuity.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 01-09-2026
