Austin Police Department has claimed to have identified the suspect in a gruesome sexual assault and murder of a nursing student which took place in 1980.
The man was identified was Deck Brewer Jr., 78.
The victim of the case was nursing student Susan Leigh Wolfe.
“On January 9, 1980, 25-year-old Susan Leigh Wolfe enrolled at the University of Texas Austin School of Nursing. On the same day, at about 10 p.m., she was kidnapped about one block from her home while walking to a friend’s house after having her house sprayed for bugs,” Austin Texas Police said in a statement.
A witness to the kidnapping watched as a car stopped and the driver exited grabbing Susan in a ”bear hug”, placed a coat over her head, and forced her into the car.
The witness also said that the passenger door opened, but he did not see what the passenger did during the abduction.
Having worked in the automotive industry, this witness confidently described the car as a 1970 Dodge Polara.
The case
Susan’s body was found early the next morning in an Austin alley at 2000 E. 17th Street.
The pathologist found evidence of ligature strangulation, determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death as homicide.
During the autopsy, the pathologist found evidence of sexual assault left by one of the suspects.
That evidence has been retained by APD and The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Crime Laboratory throughout the duration of the investigation.
During the first year of the investigation, APD investigators tirelessly followed up on dozens of leads, investigated and tracked down numerous cars fitting the witness’s description, produced over 40 persons of interest, and interviewed at least six suspects, some as far away as New York state.
On April 27, 2023, Detectives from the APD Cold Case Unit submitted evidence related to the sexual assault of Susan Wolfe to the Texas DPS Crime Laboratory. The Austin Forensic Science Department and DPS Crime Laboratory evaluated the evidence and concluded it was suitable for testing.
On February 12, 2024, APD received the test results which produced a male Short Tandem Repeat (STR profile), which eliminated the six known suspects as contributors to the evidence.
TX DPS entered the STR profile into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). This computer software program operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons.
On March 11, 2024, APD received notification from TX DPS that a possible match in CODIS was located in Massachusetts. Detectives reviewed the Massachusetts State Police Forensic Services Division report dated March 7, 2024. This report identified 78-year-old Deck Brewer Jr. as the possible contributor to the STR profile developed by TX DPS.
Current arrest records show Deck Brewer Jr. is currently incarcerated at the Massachusetts Department of Corrections on unrelated charges.
On June 10, 2024, the Travis County District Court found probable cause to issue a DNA search warrant to seize a DNA sample from Deck Brewer Jr. for direct comparison to the evidence found during Susan Wolfe’s autopsy.
On July 13, 2024, APD detectives executed the DNA search warrant in Massachusetts by obtaining the DNA sample from Deck Brewer Jr. and conducting a short interview with Brewer.
During that conversation, Brewer said he had been in Austin and San Antonio, Texas, around the time of the murder. Brewer invoked his right to counsel after he was told his DNA was found at the scene of a homicide.
On July 23, 2024, APD received the results of the direct comparison of Brewer’s DNA to the DNA found inside the victim during the autopsy. The following is an excerpt from the DPS report.
Deck Brewer Jr. cannot be excluded as the contributor of the partial major component in this DNA profile.
The probability of selecting an unrelated person at random who could be the contributor of the partial major component in this DNA profile is approximately 1 in 550.5 quintillion. One quintillion is followed by 18 zeros.
On August 14, 2024, based on the totality of the investigation thus far, the Austin Municipal Court found probable cause to issue an arrest warrant charging Deck Brewer Jr. with the murder of Susan Leigh Wolfe.
