Man arrested for murder of UT Austin nursing student in 1980

AUSTIN, Texas – More than four decades later, a man has been charged in the death of a nursing student at the University of Texas at Austin.

On the night of January 9, 1980, 25-year-old Susan Leigh Wolfe was abducted while on her way to her friend's house on Franklin Street. A witness said a car identified as a 1970 Dodge Polara pulled up and the driver got out, grabbed Wolfe, put a coat over her head and forced her into the car. The witness also said the passenger door was opened, but he did not see what the passenger did during the abduction.

The next morning, Wolfe's body was found in an alley at 2000 East 17th Street. Evidence indicated she had been sexually assaulted, strangled, and shot in the head.

During the first year of the investigation, Austin Police Department (APD) officers followed up on dozens of leads and interviewed at least six suspects out of more than 40 people, but the case was ultimately not pursued further.

In April 2023, detectives from the APD Cold Case Unit then turned over DNA evidence to the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab.

In February of this year, APD received the test results and entered them into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a nationwide database containing DNA profiles of convicted criminals, evidence from unsolved crime scenes and missing persons.

On March 11, they found a match: 77-year-old Deck Brewer Jr., who is currently in prison in Massachusetts for violating his parole in connection with a 2006 kidnapping and rape conviction.

On June 10, the Travis County District Court found there was probable cause to issue a DNA search warrant and seize a DNA sample from Brewer Jr. On June 13, APD investigators executed that search warrant, obtained a DNA sample from Brewer Jr. in Massachusetts, and conducted a brief interview with him. Brewer Jr. told police he was in Austin and San Antonio at the time of Wolfe's murder, but invoked his right to an attorney after being told his DNA was found at the scene of a murder.

On July 23, the APD received the results of a direct comparison of Brewer Jr.'s DNA to the DNA found on Wolfe's body many years ago. The DPS determined that Brewer Jr. “cannot be ruled out as the perpetrator.”

On August 14, an arrest warrant was issued for Brewer Jr. for Wolfe's murder.

However, the investigation is still ongoing. APD is still trying to find the passenger who was in the car when Wolfe was abducted. Anyone with information is asked to call the APD Cold Case Unit at 512-974-5250 or Crime Stoppers at 512-459-TIPS.