The Brief
- Kelly Lee Brower, 68, was arrested in Arizona for the 1981 sexual assault and murder of 23-year-old Yolanda Herrera in Texas.
- Investigators identified Brower after more than four decades using advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy.
- Brower confessed to the crime during police interviews and is currently awaiting extradition to Texas to face a capital murder charge.
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A 68-year-old Arizona man is expected to be extradited to Texas to face a capital murder charge in the 1981 sexual assault and killing of a Texas woman.
Suspect arrested in 1981 Cold Case
What we know:
Kelly Lee Brower was arrested on Aug. 19, 2026, in Cottonwood, Arizona after modern DNA testing and forensic genealogy research identified him as a suspect in the killing of 23-year-old Yolanda Herrera.
According to DPS, Herrera’s nude body was found by children on April 13, 1981, in a field near the 500 block of East Aviation Drive within Bexar County in Texas. Investigators said she had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death after she was last seen walking home from a local bar shortly after it closed days earlier.
Authorities said investigators spent years trying to identify Herrera’s killer, eliminating all known suspects before the case went cold for more than four decades.
Forensic genealogy breakthrough solves the case
The backstory:…