DNA USED TO SOLVE 1981 BRAZOS CO. MURDER

  

Authorities in Brazos County believe they have finally solved a high-profile murder case from nearly 37 years ago.

Monday afternoon, the Brazos County Sheriff's Office announced DNA evidence has pinpointed James Otto Earhart as the likely killer of Virginia Freeman.

Freeman’s body was discovered outside a rural Brazos County residence, at a home she had been showing to a prospective client.

Earhart was convicted of murdering a nine-year-old back in 1987, and put to death for the crime in 1999.  Earhart is also suspected of killing 51-year-old Ruth Richardson Green in 1986.

A DNA sample was not taken from Earhart at the time of his death, but Brazos County investigators were able to locate his son, who offered his DNA. That DNA indicated a parent-child match between the two men, evidence the sheriff's office called "clear and convincing."