Suspect Charged in 44-Year-Old Cold Case: A Texas Nursing Student’s Tragic Story
A 78-year-old man incarcerated nearly 2,000 miles away has been charged with the 1980 sexual assault and murder of a 25-year-old Texas nursing student, Austin police said in a press release Friday.
Thanks to DNA technology, police say Deck Brewer Jr. — currently serving time in Massachusetts for an unrelated crime — allegedly kidnapped and killed Susan Leigh Wolfe a block from her home around 10 p.m. on Jan. 9, 1980, while walking to a friend’s house.
The Haunting Night: A Life Cut Short
Wolfe had just enrolled at the University of Texas Austin School of Nursing that day, full of dreams and aspirations, barely four days away from her 26th birthday when her life was abruptly ended. She was vibrant, just beginning to plant her roots in a community she had hoped would nourish her future. However, in a tragic turn of fate, a witness observed a vehicle stopping, and within moments, Wolfe was taken. The description is chilling; a man grabbed her in a so-called bear hug, obscuring her face with a coat as she cried out.
(Austin Police Department)
Investigators found her lifeless body the following morning in an alley, a haunting scene marred by evidence of sexual assault and a gunshot wound. The early reports revealed that another individual may have been present during the abduction, shadowing the case in mystery.
The Long Quest for Justice
Initial investigations led the Austin Police Department down a labyrinth of leads, with 40 potential persons of interest identified in the first year alone. This local scour of the truth bore a heavy toll, testing the resilience of those determined to seek justice for Wolfe and her grieving family. The complexity of the case only deepened, despite months of relentless pursuit.
Last April, the department’s Cold Case Unit rejuvenated the investigation, submitting DNA evidence gathered from the crime scene to the Texas DPS Crime Laboratory. In February, the breakthrough came; the DNA results excluded the six known suspects previously questioned, leaving the case shrouded in uncertainty for years.
(Austin Police Department)
By entering the evidence into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), hope flickered anew in March when Brewer was identified as a potential match. Subsequent DNA corroboration came last month, pinpointing him as the prime suspect. Ironically, while he was physically distant, the echoes of his past had traveled across thousands of miles, reaching a community scarred by loss.
(Google Maps)
While Brewer admitted to being in Austin around the time of the murder, he firmly refused to explain further without legal counsel. Given the incredible odds against mistaking DNA—one chance in 550.5 quintillion—his claims ring hollow against the backdrop of Wolfe’s tragic reality.
As the case remains active, investigators have not given up on uncovering more truths, particularly the identity of the passenger seen in the suspect’s car, a lingering shadow from that fateful night.
Austin, a city known for its vibrant music scene and eclectic eateries, continues to seek resolution for a crime that has lingered too long in the darkness of history. Each reflection on Susan Leigh Wolfe’s story not only evokes sorrow but also propels a community to unite in the quest for justice.
