Firefighters responding to a house on Reynolds Lane west of Sherman on the morning of September 20, 2010, found three bodies inside a mobile home that had been set ablaze. Sixteen years later, no one has been arrested, and the Grayson County Sheriff's Office says it still needs more evidence before it can move on the leads it has.
The victims were identified as Brian Lee Ritchie, 30, his girlfriend Misty Yvonne Ballou, 25, and her pregnant sister Cassandra Dawn Ballou, 28, according to The Dallas Morning News. The Sherman Fire Department's call that morning led investigators to what quickly became a homicide and arson scene, and authorities said at the time they believed the fire had been set in an attempt to destroy evidence in the killings, per the same report.
Accounts of the victims' injuries differ slightly between outlets. KXII reported that all three had been shot and stabbed, and that the bed Misty was sleeping in had been set on fire. The Dallas Morning News, meanwhile, reported that the Grayson County Sheriff's Office said all three died of gunshot wounds, with Ritchie and Cassandra Ballou suffering other injuries. The Grayson County Sheriff's Office and Texas Rangers determined the fire itself was not an accident, according to KTEN, which reports that a perpetrator poured an accelerant throughout the home before setting it on fire.
A Night That Should Have Ended With a Move
According to the victims' aunt, Betty Ballou Burris, the sisters were inseparable, and KTEN reports that Misty and Cassandra had gone to Ritchie's home the day before the killings, attending a party there. Cassandra was reportedly preparing to move back home, and Misty was supposed to help her move the following morning — a plan the fire cut short. Misty left behind a son, and Cassandra left behind a daughter, per KTEN's reporting.
The Grayson County Sheriff's Office, Texas Rangers, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms launched a joint homicide and arson investigation, interviewing dozens of people in the initial stages, according to KTEN. Investigators have also collected more than 100 pieces of evidence over the course of the case, the outlet reports. Authorities have identified persons of interest over the years, but no arrests have been made.
DNA Testing Still Hasn't Broken the Case
In May 2023, Grayson County commissioners approved the sheriff's office's application for an $18,800 grant to test DNA evidence with newer technology, according to KXII's earlier reporting. The sheriff's office said at the time that the updated testing might help investigators develop a suspect profile — something the original 2010 testing could not do. KTEN reports the DNA evidence was sent to a lab in Florida that same year.
Investigators have since received DNA test results and are reviewing them alongside the broader case, per KTEN. But the station's more recent report notes that samples have been sent to labs across the country, and so far, nothing has panned out. Grayson County Sheriff's Office Captain Mark Kosemund told KXII the department still has work to do before any of its leads can become an arrest. “We do have leads,” Kosemund stated. “But once again, it's just going back to being able to prove those up.”
What DNA testing can—and cannot—show
The National Institute of Justice explains that conventional short tandem repeat (STR) DNA analysis is designed mainly to compare samples directly; it cannot identify more distant familial connections. That distinction offers general context, but does not establish which methods were used in the Sherman case.
The Texas Department of Public Safety says the Texas Rangers’ Cold Case Program gives law enforcement agencies a process for investigating unsolved murders and possible linked criminal events. That description does not confirm the program’s involvement in the Sherman investigation.
Investigators Point to a Motive, But Won't Say More
Kosemund said the bodies had suffered trauma outside of the fire itself, and told KTEN that investigators have persons of interest and a possible motive in the case, though he is withholding details to protect the ongoing investigation. He also said he believes the person responsible remains in the country but is not directly tied to the Sherman area, according to KTEN's report.
The Grayson County Sheriff's Office continues to ask the public for information about the killings. Anyone with details is asked to contact the sheriff's office. The case has also been featured on KTEN's Texoma Unsolved series, which airs every first Monday of the month.
