Austin Police Department has identified a suspect in the cold-case killing of University of Texas nursing student Susan Leigh Wolfe more than 40 years after her murder. Deck Brewer Jr., 78, has been charged with her murder after DNA evidence from her sexual assault linked him to the crime. Wolfe was abducted on January 9, 1980, and was found the next morning in an alley in Austin with a gunshot wound to the head. Evidence also suggested she had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
The investigation produced more than 40 persons of interest over the years, leading to six suspects being interviewed. However, a breakthrough came in April 2023 when detectives submitted evidence related to Wolfe’s sexual assault. After almost a year of testing, Brewer was identified as a possible match. Detectives obtained a DNA sample from Brewer and interviewed him in Massachusetts, where he was already incarcerated on unrelated charges.
During the interview, Brewer admitted to being in Austin and San Antonio around the time of the murder, but invoked his right to counsel when informed that his DNA was found at the crime scene. DNA testing revealed that Brewer could not be excluded as the contributor of the DNA profile found at the scene. The investigation is ongoing, and police are still searching for the person who was in the passenger seat during Wolfe’s abduction. Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to contact the Austin Police Department’s cold case unit.
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