Mandy was found 'dead beyond recognition'. Her dog helped police find her killer.

If you're a dog person, you've probably uttered words like "we don't deserve dogs" and "dogs are the best people" before.

And this story of a woman's dog helping police track down her killer might just prove that both those statements are true.

On April 5, 2023, authorities responding to a brush fire in the US town of Robinson, Texas, made a horrifying discovery: a burnt body inside a large plastic storage container that was "dead beyond recognition".

But the officers weren't alone at the scene. A fluffy white dog sat nearby, "barking frantically" at police as they investigated the area.

"[The dog] refused to leave the area of the body, but also refused to allow police to capture it," read a press release from the local District Attorney's office.

That pup would go on to play a crucial role in solving the murder of his 26-year-old owner.

Watch: To dogs, our best friends. Post continues below.

What happened to Mandy Rose Reynolds?

The day after their grim discovery, local police moved the body (which they were still yet to identify), but the dog refused to budge. A concerned citizen noticed him at the location, and notified animal control, who captured the pet and scanned his microchip.

He was a labradoodle named Titan, according to records — and his owner was one Mandy Rose Reynolds.

The information was passed on to local police, who visited the 26-year-old woman's home in San Marcos — around a two-hour drive from where the body had been discovered. They arrived to find Mandy's home eerily empty, with all her belongings missing. Her car was gone, too, prompting authorities to run her vehicle information on a license plate database.

They got a hit.

Mandy's car had been seen in Wichita, Kansas — around 700km north of where her body had been found in the fire.

After being put on alert, Wichita police spotted the young woman's black Honda Accord, being driven by a man. But when they tried to pull the driver over, he fled, engaging authorities in a high-speed chase for more than half an hour before he eventually crashed into another vehicle. At this point, he attempted to flee on foot, hiding out on a shelf in a grocery store before eventually being caught.

The driver was identified as Mandy's 29-year-old cousin, Derek Daigneault.

Did Derek kill Mandy?

The investigation that followed revealed damning evidence.

Surveillance footage from a Walmart in San Marcos, Texas — where Mandy lived — showed Derek purchasing a plastic storage container identical to the one his cousin's body had been found in, along with a shovel and a gas can.

The footage also showed Derek leaving the Walmart carpark in Mandy's car, and Titan in the car, his head poking out of the window.

Investigators also found a shell casing inside the plastic container Mandy's body was found in, which they soon matched to a handgun found in Mandy's car. The medical examiner's office determined Mandy's cause of death had been a gunshot wound to the head.

In 2024, Derek Daigneault was convicted of the murder of Mandy Rose Reynolds and on November 7, was sentenced to life in prison for his crime.

But one question remains: why?

It's something we may never know, though Mandy's mother shared some information about the pair's contact prior to the murder.

"Mandy had moved from Idaho to San Marcos and was thinking about starting college before the murder," her mother, Karleen Hardy, shared in a GoFundMe post. She explained that Derek had reached out to her daughter under "false pretenses", which "resulted in Mandy travelling to Kansas to bring Derek to Texas for a brief visit".

While the motive remains undisclosed, one thing is clear: without Titan's loyalty and presence at the crime scene, this case may have taken a very different turn.

"The keys to this case were a heroic and loyal dog named Titan and extraordinary co-operation between law enforcement agencies in multiple jurisdictions and states," said assistant District Attorneys Ryan Calvert and Alyssa Killin.

"That combination has delivered justice for Mandy and safety from a violent and dangerous criminal."

Mandy's family say they owe the justice to labradoodle Titan, who has since been adopted by Mandy's best friend.

"He is doing great," Calvert told NBC News of the dog.

Feature Image: McLennan County District Attorney's Office; GoFundMe.