Deleon’s death was a cold case that had remained unsolved for 42 years until new evidence was found through the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program, which is funded by the Department of Justice.
Larry Allen West, a 68-year-old man from San Antonio, was recently arrested and charged with murder in connection to the 1981 murder of 18-year-old Carol Joyce Deleon
Deleon was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the head along Interstate 35 in southern Comal County in June 1981. Despite an extensive investigation, investigators were unable to identify Deleon using her fingerprints or a composite sketch released to local media. As a result, Deleon was buried as a Jane Doe, and the investigation into her death stalled for decades.
A break in the case came 26 years later when a family member reported Deleon missing to the San Antonio Police Department in 2007. Her family was able to identify her through a photo, and family DNA testing confirmed her identity. The family had attempted to file a missing person report when she initially went missing in 1981, but no report was taken because Deleon was already 18, and no foul play was suspected.
The Texas Rangers continued pursuing the case, and in 2010, an unknown DNA profile was developed and entered into the Combined DNA Index System, but no matches were found. However, advanced DNA testing under the SAKI program in 2020 led to the arrest of West, who was linked to the killing through new evidence.
West was arrested and booked on a $125,000 bond and is currently awaiting an indictment and trial
It is unclear at this time when the trial will begin. Deleon’s family has been waiting for justice for over four decades, and the arrest of West brings a measure of closure to them.
The Texas DPS Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program has been instrumental in bringing attention to cold cases like Deleon’s and helping to solve them through advanced DNA testing. The program is funded by the Department of Justice and provides resources to test unsubmitted sexual assault kits and develop DNA profiles for suspects in unsolved cases.
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