Austin, TX
Texas serial killer on the loose as police use DNA to link suspect to deaths of 2 women
![Texas serial killer on the loose as police use DNA to link suspect to deaths of 2 women Texas serial killer on the loose as police use DNA to link suspect to deaths of 2 women](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/08/14/NAAS/74804536007-serial-killer-apd-presser-001.jpg?auto=webp&crop=3535,1990,x0,y132&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Surveillance footage: Austin police searching for ‘serial killer’
Austin police released surveillance footage depicting a 34-year-old homicide victim walking with the man police believe may have killed her.
Austin Police Department
Law enforcement agencies in Central Texas believe a serial killer is on the loose, after the slayings of two women in Austin and Bastrop County.
Until last week, officers believed the two incidents were unrelated because they occurred six years apart. However, after collecting and analyzing multiple sources of DNA from both crime scenes, they discovered that the DNA matched.
The Bastrop County sheriff’s office has been working with the Texas Rangers to identify the man’s DNA, though he does not match any records from the Combined DNA Index System, Austin Police Sgt. Nathan Sexton said in a news conference.
In response to a reporter’s question, he added that it is “relatively rare” for someone committing “really violent murders” not to have been arrested or detained for a previous crime, the Austin American-Statesman previously reported.
Here’s what we know.
More: Austin police request public assistance to identify local serial killer
Austin Police Department responded to scene of deceased woman in June
On June 21, officers with the Austin Police Department responded to a 911 call and discovered a deceased woman inside an abandoned home at 2600 Metcalfe Road.
The 34-year-old woman was identified as Alyssa Ann Rivera. Detectives determined she was strangled and had been sexually assaulted, Sexton said during the news conference. Surveillance footage showed she had been seen walking with a man shortly before she was killed, Guillen said. Police believe the man could be the person who killed Rivera.
Investigators believed Rivera’s murder was an isolated incident until Aug. 7, when DNA evidence from the scene where they found Rivera connected the unidentified man to the 2018 unsolved murder of 28-year-old Alba Jenisse Aviles in Bastrop County, Austin police Detective Christopher Anderson said.
Police declined to identify what DNA had been found, saying that multiple sources of DNA were found at both murder scenes.
The Austin Police Department and Bastrop County sheriff’s office have been collaborating on the cases since the link was determined, Sexton said.
Woman found dead inside parked vehicle in April 2018
Alba Jenisse Aviles, 28, was killed on April 14, 2018, after she left Club Caribe in Southeast Austin. Her body was found by a passing driver, who discovered Aviles inside her parked silver sedan in the 300 block of Old San Antonio Road, the American-Statesman reported.
Aviles was similarly sexually assaulted and strangled to death, Sexton said, adding that both scenes had a similar “modus operandi.”
Law enforcement do not believe the victims knew each other or were linked in any way, Sexton said.
More: How many bodies have been found in Austin’s Lady Bird Lake? Here’s what we know.
How to report information
Sexton encouraged anyone with information about either Aviles’ or Rivera’s murders to contact the Austin Police Department at 512-974-TIPS or submit anonymous tips through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program at austincrimestoppers.org or 512-472-8477.
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Austin, TX
Venue in Austin to become ‘Pink Pony Club’ for Chappell Roan dance party Aug. 16
![Venue in Austin to become ‘Pink Pony Club’ for Chappell Roan dance party Aug. 16 Venue in Austin to become ‘Pink Pony Club’ for Chappell Roan dance party Aug. 16](https://www.lonestarlive.com/resizer/v2/VEFS4DGIJNBZLEUWKSEMR7AQK4.jpg?auth=8be2e20b8c5832f544bd49dbdef28d940c9ba89fc31457d433e6ca07a94dc3e5&width=1280&quality=90)
It appears a music venue in Austin, Texas, is gearing up for ACL Fest artist Chappell Roan’s arrival by throwing an epic dance party in her honor.
Fans of the rising pop star with a soulful yet eccentric sound are in luck as tickets still are available to the After Midnight: Chappell Roan Dance Party in East Austin on Friday, Aug. 16. The event will be held at Parish, 501 Brushy St., Austin, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
According to the event page on the venue’s website, attendees can expect “a night of bubblegum pop disco for drama queens and kings!” The event also will feature a special performance by Brigitte Bandit, a drag queen and activist based in the Capital City.
DJ Alex Jay will be spinning anthems by the Midwest Princess that everyone (willingly or unwillingly) has come to know and love, along with other pop hits that will surely have attendees dancing their worries away until the wee hours of the morning.
Those who are ages 21 and older are welcome to snag tickets to attend the party! Available tickets are currently $26, plus taxes and fees. But according to Eventbrite, there are only a few tickets left. If you want to attend the After Midnight: Chappell Roan Dance Party, it’s in your best interest to buy your tickets ASAP!
Doors at Parish will open at 9 p.m.
Austin, TX
Former Texas Longhorn Kevin Durant returns to Austin for special on-campus NBA game at Moody Center
Kevin Durant is going back to Austin. The former Texas Longhorns basketball star and his current team, the Phoenix Suns, will face San Antonio in the Spurs’ annual I-35 series.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, KD and the Suns take on the Spurs on Feb. 20 at 8:30 p.m. at the Moody Center on the UT campus. San Antonio will take on the Detroit Pistons the next night, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m.
Durant played one season for the Texas men’s team before being drafted second overall in the 2007 NBA draft. He recently became the first men’s basketball player to win his fourth Olympic gold medal after Team USA beat France in the Paris Games.
“We’re thrilled by the response we’ve enjoyed in Austin the last two seasons. We had high hopes when we decided to play regular season games in Austin and the results have far surpassed our expectations … We’re excited to continue to connect with our fans in Austin and across our region in meaningful ways during the 2024-25 season and into the future.” — Brandon James, Spurs senior vice president of strategic growth.
Tickets for the games will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday with Spurs season ticket holders receiving presale access at 2 p.m. Thursday while Official Spurs Fan Club members will receive presale access at 3 p.m.
Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Trey Luerssen on Twitter @TreyLuerssen.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Former Texas Longhorn Kevin Durant returns to Austin for special on-campus NBA game at Moody Center
Austin, TX
'Inside Out': Tightening race for president in Texas?
AUSTIN, Texas — A new survey by a group called ActiVote shows a tightening race for president in Texas. Donald Trump leads Kamala Harris by about 6 points among likely voters in Texas. That’s a smaller margin than the nearly 9 points Trump had over President Joe Biden in July, before Biden dropped out.
On this week’s “Inside Out” segment, former Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, and former state Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, weighed in on the race for president and what it could mean for down ballot candidates in Texas.
Click the video link above to watch the full segment.
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