Haltom City man who killed his twin sister in their home eligible for parole in 2039
A Haltom City man convicted of killing his twin sister after repeatedly stabbing her in 2019 in their home will be eligible for parole in August 2039, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website on Wednesday.
David Conditt was sentenced this summer to 40 years in prison for murder in the stabbing death of his twin sister, 58-year-old Dena Wright, formerly Dena Conditt, at their Haltom City home in August 2019.
The 60-year-old Conditt is projected to be released in August 2059, according to the website. He is in the J. Middleton prison unit near Abilene.
Authorities did not release a motive for the killing, but friends were told by Wright that her brother would often fight with her, as well as not take care of himself or bathe.
Conditt came to live with his sister after he was homeless for a bit and she agreed to take him in, friends said.
Shortly after the stabbing, Conditt was arrested in South Carolina by officials with the United States Marshal’s Office Task Force and deputies with the Charleston, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office. He was then extradited to Tarrant County.
An arrest warrant obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2019 gave this brief account of the killing:
Wright texted a friend one night in August 2019, and asked if she could come over to his house to swim because she was having issues with her brother, David Conditt.
The friend did not respond to the text until the next day, but he welcomed her to come over to swim. Wright did not respond. The friend received a telephone call from another resident who told him that he saw Conditt and he was driving a red Toyota SUV.
That resident found it odd that Conditt was in the vehicle because he knew Conditt did not have a driver’s license and never drove.
Conditt was seen getting out of the SUV with his bare feet crusted in what appeared to be blood.
Two friends decided to visit Conditt and went to Wright’s home. Conditt spoke with them, but he would not allow them into the home.
Haltom City police were asked to make a welfare check, but no one answered and there were no vehicles at Wright’s home.
One of the friends reported talking to and seeing Conditt the day after Haltom City police made a welfare check.. He was wearing the same clothes he had on the day before and his feet were still heavily crusted in blood.
When the friend asked Conditt if he had cut himself, Conditt said he had struck his sister, stabbed her and left her in the kitchen.
Conditt told his friend he was going to see his daughter in Oklahoma and he would not be seen anymore. Conditt then drove away in Wright’s car, which was later recovered in South Carolina.
Soon after that, Haltom City police returned to the home and discovered Wright’s body.
“She’s really struggled with him, but she’s taken care of him, all of his life,” Keli Stallings told the Star-Telegram in 2019. She had been a friend of Wright for years. “It’s just really, really sad. I just can’t believe this.”
This report contains information from Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives.
