That evidence was retained by the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory throughout the investigation.
In April 2023, detectives from the APD Cold Case Unit submitted evidence related to the sexual assault to the Texas DPS Crime Laboratory.
The Austin Forensic Science Department and DPS Crime Laboratory evaluated the evidence and decided it was suitable for testing.
APD received the test results in February and Texas DPS entered the profile from the results into CODIS or the Combined DNA Index System.
Anyone with information related to this case is being encouraged to call APD’s Cold Case Unit at 512-974-5250.
According to a news release from the City of Austin, authorities are still looking for one more person in connection with the crime. Deck Brewer has been named as a suspect in the 44-year-old cold case killing of University of Texas nursing student Susan Leigh Wolfe.
At the UT Austin School of Nursing, Wolfe enrolled in 1980. at approximately 10 p.m. me. local time, authorities claim that after having her home sprayed for bugs, she was abducted while strolling to a friend’s house approximately one block away from her own.
A witness to the kidnapping claims they saw as the driver of the stopped car gave Wolfe a “bear hug,” covered her head with a coat, and dragged her inside the vehicle. Although he did not see the passenger’s actions during the kidnapping, the witness also stated that the passenger door opened. It was a 1970 Dodge Polara, according to the witness.
Early the following morning, Wolfe’s body was discovered in an Austin alleyway at 2000 E. 17th Street. After determining that a gunshot wound to the head was the cause of death and that homicide was the manner of death, the pathologist discovered “evidence of ligature strangulation.”.
A sexual assault trail, left by one of the suspects, was discovered by the pathologist during the autopsy. The Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory kept that evidence for the duration of the inquiry.
Texas DPS Crime Laboratory received evidence pertaining to the sexual assault from detectives in the APD Cold Case Unit in April 2023. The DPS Crime Laboratory and the Austin Forensic Science Department determined the evidence was appropriate for testing after reviewing it.
After Texas DPS entered the test results’ profile into CODIS, or the Combined DNA Index System, APD received the test results in February. CODIS manages the DNA profiles of convicted criminals, unidentified missing persons, and unresolved crime scene evidence at the local, state, and federal levels.
The Texas Department of Public Safety notified the Austin Police Department (APD) in March of the discovery of a potential match in CODIS in Massachusetts. Forensic Services Division report dated March 7, 2024, Massachusetts State Police, was reviewed by detectives. According to this report, Brewer, 78, may have contributed to the TX DPS profile.
Records of Brewer’s arrest indicate that he is being held at the Massachusetts Department of Corrections on unrelated charges.
For the purpose of directly comparing Brewer’s DNA sample to the evidence discovered during Wolfe’s autopsy, the Travis County District Court determined in June that there was probable cause to issue a DNA search warrant.
APD detectives collected Brewer’s DNA sample and conducted an interview with him in July in order to carry out the DNA search warrant in Massachusetts. Brewer said in that conversation that he was in Austin and San Antonio at the time of the murder and that he had used his right to legal representation after learning that his DNA had been discovered at the murder scene.
After comparing Brewer’s DNA with the victim’s DNA found during the autopsy, APD was informed of the results.
The DPS report states that Deck Brewer Jr. cannot be disregarded as a potential contributor to this DNA profile’s partial major component. The likelihood of arbitrarily choosing an unrelated individual to be the partial major component contributor in this DNA profile is roughly 1 in 550.5 quintillion. Eighteen zeros come after a quintillion. ****.
Austin Municipal Court determined in August that there was sufficient evidence to issue an arrest warrant accusing Brewer of killing Wolfe.
The APD is pursuing leads in the investigation to locate the passenger in the vehicle when Wolfe was kidnapped.
Wolfe’s roommate at the time appears to have died last year, and both of her parents have since passed away, according to CBS affiliate KEYE-TV in Austin.
Contacting the APD’s Cold Case Unit at 512-974-5250 is recommended for anyone with information about this case.
