Nursing student found dead in an alley 44 years ago, Texas cops say. Suspect now ID’d
Susan Leigh Wolfe enrolled at the University of Texas Austin School of Nursing on Jan. 9, 1980.
Later that day, the 25-year-old was kidnapped one block from her home while she was walking to a friend’s house, according to an Aug. 16 news release from the Austin Police Department.
A witness told authorities they saw a driver get out of their vehicle and grab Wolfe in a “bear hug” before forcing her into the car with a coat over her head, police said. The witness said there was also a passenger in the vehicle, “but he did not see what the passenger did during the abduction.”
Wolfe’s body was found in an alley in Austin the next morning, according to police.
Authorities ruled her death a homicide, with the cause of death being a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Evidence found during an autopsy also revealed Wolfe was sexually assaulted, according to police.
Despite dozens of leads, 40 persons of interest, and six suspects, Wolfe’s case went cold after the first year, according to police.
Now, thanks to advances in DNA technology, authorities have arrested a suspect in Wolfe’s killing.
Suspect arrested
In April 2023, detectives with the Austin Police Department’s Cold Case Unit submitted evidence gathered from the sexual assault for DNA profiling that could be compared to profiles in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to find a possible match, police said.
According to authorities, CODIS “operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons.”
In March 2024, authorities learned the evidence matched a profile in CODIS connected to 78-year-old Deck Brewer, Jr., who is currently incarcerated in Massachusetts on unrelated charges, according to police.
After executing a DNA search warrant, a direct comparison of Brewer’s DNA and the DNA evidence found in Wolfe’s body during the autopsy showed they were a match, authorities said.
In an interview with investigators, Brewer said he was in Austin and San Antonio around the time Wolfe was killed, police said.
On Aug. 14, an arrest warrant was issued, charging Brewer with the murder of Susan Leigh Wolfe, according to police.
Police said the investigation remains open as they try to identify the passenger in the vehicle the night of Wolfe’s abduction.
Anyone with information related to this case is asked to call the Austin Police Department Cold Case Unit at 512-974-5250.
