Overview
- Larry Dean Brown, 79, was arrested in Colorado, extradited to Tarrant County and indicted on a murder charge in the 1981 strangulation of Beverly Bruneau.
- Grapevine investigators say swabs taken covertly from soda bottles in Brown’s trash produced a DNA profile that the University of North Texas lab found could not be excluded as the contributor of male blood on Bruneau’s blood-stained nightgown.
- Detectives reopened the case after a 2010 UNT test produced an unknown male profile and prosecutors point to disputed insurance dealings, a suspected 1980 arson and earlier interviews noting a fresh thumb wound as context for a possible motive.
- Brown’s lawyer argues the case is largely circumstantial, has asked a judge to reduce a $2 million bond, and a court order shows bail has been denied so Brown remains in custody.
- The prosecution’s reliance on preserved evidence, a covert discarded-item swab and decades-old witness statements is likely to drive pretrial disputes over DNA methods, collection practices and the weight of circumstantial evidence.