DNA Evidence Cracks 45-Year-Old North Texas Cold Case: Colorado Man Arrested in 1981 Grapevine Woman’s Strangulation Murder
After more than four decades of silence, justice may finally be within reach for the family of a Grapevine woman whose brutal killing in 1981 went unsolved for 45 years. A Colorado man has been arrested and indicted in connection with the death of Beverly Bruneau, a case that investigators were able to crack open with the help of modern DNA science and a trail of evidence that began with everyday household items.
The arrest marks a major breakthrough in one of North Texas’s longest-running cold case homicides, and it sends a powerful message that no murder case is ever truly closed.
A Valentine’s Day Eve Tragedy
,In February of 1981, Grapevine police officers responded to an apartment after a 911 caller said he had found his girlfriend, 35-year-old Beverly Bruneau, dead on the living room floor with an electrical cord wrapped around her neck and blood on her face., The scene that greeted first responders was grim and chaotic.
,According to court documents, Bruneau was found with multiple injuries consistent with a struggle. Officers also noted that the crime scene showed obvious signs of a violent fight, with several items and multiple surfaces bearing blood stains, including bloody fingerprint smudges on the kitchen sink.,
,Court documents indicate that officers also spoke with a witness who lived directly across from the apartment, who said she heard a man scream and call out for police.,
,The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Bruneau’s death a homicide caused by strangulation and determined that tests came back negative for sexual assault.,
A Suspect in Plain Sight
From the very beginning, investigators had their eyes on someone close to the victim. ,Officers went to speak with Bruneau’s best friend, identified as Thelma Brown, also a flight attendant, but she was not home due to being on an international flight. Her husband, Larry Brown, a former pilot and engineer with Braniff Airlines, was present and spoke with detectives.,
,Records show Larry Brown told detectives that Thelma Brown and Bruneau had been roommates and co-owned a home in Dallas that was badly damaged in an arson fire a few months before Bruneau’s murder.,
,Detectives found Larry Brown’s answers evasive, and they noted he had a fresh wound to his right thumb, just below the thumbnail, where the top layer of skin had been torn off., Despite those red flags, the case could not move forward.
,Police noted that Larry Brown was initially cooperative in the investigation but later refused to be fingerprinted, undergo a polygraph examination, or allow photographs of his injuries to be taken., ,However, Larry Brown was not arrested in connection with the case at that time.,
A Web of Alleged Deception and Motive
Court documents paint a disturbing picture of the relationship between Bruneau and the Browns in the months leading up to her death. ,After Bruneau allegedly repeatedly refused certain requests from the Browns, creating tension, a fire broke out at the Dallas home while she was out of town. The same night after the fire was extinguished by Dallas Fire-Rescue, a second fire, allegedly caused by arson, occurred and significantly damaged the property.,
,Following the fire, it was alleged that both Thelma and Larry Brown asked Bruneau to sign fraudulent insurance documents to receive a payout from the insurance company, after Larry Brown attempted to get an appraisal done through his construction company.,
,Court documents state that a few days before her death, Bruneau was confronted by Larry Brown about her refusal to sign the paperwork, something Larry Brown himself admitted to police in 1981.,
Investigators also uncovered a financial motive that reached beyond the insurance scheme. ,In 2025, Grapevine officers investigating the cold case found a mortgage agreement between Thelma Brown and Bruneau, stating that if either woman married, she would remain responsible for her share of the mortgage. The agreement also included a life insurance policy, under which a percentage of the loan would be paid out in the event of one of their deaths., ,Police learned that after that agreement was made, Thelma Brown married Larry Brown, who had been laid off from the airline where they all worked.,
DNA Science Unlocks the Cold Case
The case sat dormant for decades, but advances in forensic technology eventually gave investigators the tools they needed to pursue new answers.
,Bruneau’s clothing had been collected and preserved at the time of her autopsy. In 2010, her clothing and other evidence were sent to a laboratory for examination as technology had advanced sufficiently to make such testing meaningful.,
,A DNA sample from that evidence indicated blood from an unknown man, and a DNA profile was created and uploaded to the national CODIS database, but no matches were returned at that time.,
The breakthrough that cracked the case came not from a database hit, but from everyday objects. According to reports, DNA recovered from a BBQ sauce bottle and soda bottles eventually played a pivotal role in building the case against the suspect. The innovative use of consumer items as sources of biological material represents a growing frontier in cold case investigations.
,An indictment now alleges that Larry Brown used his hands or an electrical cord to strangle Beverly Bruneau just before Valentine’s Day, 45 years ago., Larry Brown, now 79 years old and living in Colorado, has been arrested and charged in connection with the killing.
Justice Long Overdue
The arrest of Larry Brown comes as North Texas law enforcement agencies have increasingly embraced cutting-edge forensic tools to revisit decades-old unsolved homicides. The Bruneau case is one of a growing number of cold case breakthroughs made possible by evolving DNA science and the willingness of investigators to take another look at old evidence with new eyes.
For the family and friends of Beverly Bruneau, who was just 35 years old when her life was violently cut short just days before Valentine’s Day in 1981, the arrest represents a long-awaited step toward closure. Whether it ultimately leads to a conviction in a court of law remains to be determined, but after 45 years, the wheels of justice are finally turning.
The case continues to move through the Tarrant County legal system. Dallas Headlines will continue to follow developments as they unfold.