Destinee Dawn Verno, a 41-year-old woman from Victoria, Texas, tragically passed away on March 2, 2022. Born on April 1, 1980, in Wichita Falls, Texas, Destinee was a truck driver for Peak Oil Field. She is survived by her daughter, Rubee Jean Oakes, her son, Billy Joe Oakes II, her father, Steven Verno, and her brother, Steven Verno II. Her mother, Cheryl Gerland Verno, had predeceased her.
On the night of March 2, 2022, Victoria Police Officers were dispatched to Poplar Street after
receiving a call regarding a shooting. Upon arrival, they discovered that Destinee Verno had been shot and killed. The investigation revealed that a suspect had been seen fleeing the scene in a white Toyota 4-Runner. The Victoria Police Department quickly dispatched the description of the vehicle to surrounding law enforcement agencies in an attempt to locate the suspect.
Hours after the shooting, a Victoria Detective spotted the white 4-Runner on Highway 77 North and followed it to Lavaca County. The vehicle eventually came to a stop at the Shiloh Community Center. Inside the vehicle, law enforcement found 39-year-old John Seals, who was identified as Destinee Verno's husband. Tragically, Seals had shot and killed himself inside the car. The Victoria Police Department confirmed that John Seals had shot and killed his wife, Destinee Verno, before taking his own life.
The investigation into the murder-suicide was assisted by the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force, the Lavaca County Sheriff's Office, and the Texas Department of Public Safety Rangers. The Victoria Police Department expressed their gratitude for the assistance provided by these agencies in the investigation.
