FRESNO - On Tuesday afternoon, 59-year-old Alan DuPras died from medical complications while admitted as a patient at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. DuPras was originally booked into the Fresno County Jail on September 25, 2018. He was transferred from the jail to the hospital on October 6, 2019, and remained there until his death on October 15th.
The Kingsburg man was in custody for the December 2017 murders of his ex-wife, 55-year-old Jennifer Dupras and her mother, 88-year-old Cynthia Houk. DuPras was arrested outside his home located on the 2800 block of 18th Street in Kingsburg. DuPras has been booked into the Fresno County Jail on two counts of murder, two counts of arson, a count of possession of assault weapons and a count of vandalism. His bail was set at $3.142 million.
It was around 3:30 pm on December 11th, 2017 that Fresno County Sheriff’s dispatchers received a phone call requesting deputies check the welfare of 55-year-old Jennifer DuPras, who lived at a home on the 6200 block of N. Colonial Ave. in Fresno. The caller was concerned because Jennifer had missed an appointment earlier in the day.
Deputies responded and found the home to be secure, with no signs of trouble. Deputies spoke to a neighbor who told them they had a key to the house and would let them inside to check if everything was ok. The deputies entered the home and found two women who had been shot and were deceased. They were later identified as Jennifer Dupras and her mother, 88-year-old Cynthia Houk.
Homicide detectives immediately began to contact family members of the women, including Alan DuPras. On December 12th, detectives met with Alan in person and he explained he was going through the divorce process with Jennifer. He said he knew Jennifer had a boyfriend, did not know the man but was curious to find out. There was no probable cause to arrest Alan at this time. However, detectives chose to author a search warrant for Alan’s home later that same day. Detectives seized multiple guns from the house.
A short time later, detectives learned that investigators with the Fresno Fire Department were looking at Alan DuPras as a potential suspect in two separate arson cases. The first, on November 22nd, 2017, involved Cynthia Houk’s car being intentionally set on fire while parked in front of her home on N. Colonial Ave. The second, on December 4th, 2017, involved the Alliance Francaise De Fresno. Jennifer was the president of this French club at the time. The building located at the corner of First and Gettysburg in Fresno was intentionally set on fire. After reviewing evidence, investigators learned Alan Dupras had been to the French club a month prior and vandalized it. Fresno Fire investigators played an instrumental role in helping FCSD during this case.
On December 28th, sheriff’s detectives returned to Alan’s Kingsburg home with a new search warrant in order to look for evidence tied to the arson cases.
On December 29th, detectives executed a search warrant at the home of Alan’s parents, located in Clovis. Inside they recovered multiple guns belonging to Alan.
Detectives focused on collecting and reviewing surveillance video captured in the surrounding areas of the murders and fires. Homeowners and businesses answered our requests by supplying us with recordings, thus helping with the investigation. Detectives found that a white crew cab Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck appeared in every video near the crime scenes. Alan DuPras owned this same type of pickup truck, which was later recovered and processed for evidence.
Criminal analysts with the Sheriff’s Office ran ballistics tests on all of the guns seized, but none matched those used against Jennifer and Cynthia. However, technology and digital data obtained even as recently as this month, proved to be enough evidence to show Alan DuPras was responsible for both murders and both fires.
Reports have surfaced Thursday morning that inmate Alan DuPras suffered an injury above his eye. Tony Botti, spokesman for the Fresno County Sheriff's Department said "We are currently reviewing reports to determine exactly how inmate Alan DuPras suffered an injury above his eye. Once we have answers, I will provide you a statement." This will likely happen later this afternoon.
No further details are available at this time from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department without infringing upon HIPAA laws.