On November 12, 1992, a home health care worker found 81-year-old Raymond “Ray” Adolph Lightner stabbed to death inside his home in Taylor, Texas. A widower recently home from surgery, he’d spoken with family just hours before. No suspect has ever been identified or charged.
Ray’s case has sat cold for 33 years — longer than CODIS, the national DNA database, has even existed. In December 2025, the Texas Rangers Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program announced that the case’s physical evidence had been resubmitted for modern DNA testing, giving the investigation new life decades after the trail first went cold. The Taylor Police Department and the Rangers continue to hold the case open, with a standing $3,000 Texas Crime Stoppers reward for information leading to an arrest.
If you have information about this case, contact Texas Crime Stoppers at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477), or submit a tip online through the Texas Rangers’ Cold Case website (search “Raymond Lightner” or Williamson County reference #314). All tips are anonymous.
Related reading
No well-reviewed book has been written about this specific case. For background on how modern DNA testing and genetic genealogy have solved decades-old cold cases nationally: cold case DNA & genetic genealogy true crime books.
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Sources
- Texas Department of Public Safety press release, “Texas Rangers Seek Tips in Murder of Williamson Co. Senior” (Dec. 2025)
- Texas Rangers Cold Case Investigation Details, reference #314, dps.texas.gov (live, re-verified unsolved 2026-09-24)
- Dallas Express, Dec. 10, 2025
- KAUZ Newschannel 6, Dec. 9, 2025
No crime-scene or graphic imagery is used in this video. No suspect or person of interest is named or depicted, per this series’ standing editorial policy.
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