Brother of 1980 cold case victim speaks out after police identify suspect

AUSTIN, Texas - The brother of a woman murdered in 1980 is speaking out after law enforcement say they have identified her alleged killer.

Austin police say they have identified a murder suspect in a cold case from 1980. 

On January 9, 1980, 25-year-old Susan Wolfe enrolled at the UT Austin School of Nursing. Her brother, Charles Wolfe, describes her as a great spirit.

"She was working at the state hospital at the time and really cared about people. That was kind of a crossover for her, to get her foot in the door at University of Texas," he said. 

Austin Police say that on that same day, around 10 p.m., she was kidnapped about a block from her home while walking to her friend's house. 

A witness saw a car, described as a 1970 Dodge Polara, stopping and the driver grabbing her in a bear hug, putting a coat over her head, and forcing her into the car. The witness said the passenger door also opened, but didn't see what they did. 

Susan's body was found the next morning in an alley on East 17th Street near Poquito Street. Police say she had been strangled, sexually assaulted, and shot in the head. 

Charles was a junior in high school at the time. 

"I was in disbelief, denial, thinking that must be some kind of mistake. Things like that just don't happen," he said.

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APD had over 40 people of interest, interviewed at least six suspects, some as far away as New York State. 

"It was really tough on our family. It was like an open wound that would fester," Charles said. "After, I'd say a decade, our family had given up."

Last year, police sent DNA for testing. They got the results in February, which eliminated the six known suspects. The results were then entered into CODIS, a DNA database of offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons.

In March, a possible match was found in Massachusetts: 78-year-old Deck Brewer, Jr. He's incarcerated there on unrelated charges.

He told APD detectives he had been in Austin and San Antonio around the time of Susan's death. He has been charged with her murder.

"I was shocked, I was dumbfounded. I was just ecstatic. It was, I tell you, one of the best days of my life," Charles said. "It's tempered with a little cautious optimism because we want to make sure that it's justice delayed, but not denied. I want to make sure that we bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice ultimately."

Susan was the big sister to two younger brothers. Their parents passed away without ever knowing who was responsible for Susan's death.

"She's still alive in the hearts and minds of anyone who ever knew her that was touched by her," Charles said.

The case isn't closed yet. Detectives still want to know who the passenger in the car was.

If you have any information, call the APD Cold Case Unit at 512-974-5250.

"We want to heighten the visibility of this case to let people out there know there's still someone out there. There's someone that probably knows this individual or has seen this car, knows the history of this case. I like to encourage them to come forward, to cooperate, to help bring these people to justice. Someone knows something," Charles said.