Austin, TX
Texas serial killer on the loose as police use DNA to link suspect to deaths of 2 women
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.
There was a significant reduction in the number of antisemitic incidents in Rhode Island in 2025, according to a national Jewish advocacy group.
According to the Anti-Defamation League’s latest Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, there were 26 antisemitic incidents in the state last year. That’s down from the 52 incidents counted by the group in 2024.
Samantha Joseph, New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, says a big reason for the reduction is a steep decline in antisemitism on college campuses.
“It shows that campus administrators are taking their responsibilities very seriously to provide a safe environment for all of their students,” said Joseph.
Brown University had over $500 million in federal funding frozen by the Trump administration last year following investigations into alleged antisemitism on campus. The funding was restored after Brown reached a settlement with the administration.
The reduction in antisemitic incidents in Rhode Island reflects a wider trend in New England as a whole. According to the ADL’s report, there were 400 antisemitic incidents in the region in 2025, compared to 638 the previous year.
While she’s pleased about the overall drop in antisemitic incidents in Rhode Island, Joseph says a number of concerning trends continue to persist. In particular, the state is still seeing more anti-Jewish incidents than it did prior to the October 7 attacks on Israel that launched the Gaza War in 2023.
Joseph is also concerned about the violent nature of local incidents of antisemitism.
“Even though overall incidents are down, assaults are up and assaults with a deadly weapon are up significantly,” said Joseph. “Our communities remain concerned for their safety, and our work is far from done.”
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Severe thunderstorms are possible Sunday evening as a cold front arrives in Central Texas. KXAN’s First Warning Weather Team will keep you updated on the weather coverage.
Risks to be aware of are damaging wind gusts that could reach as high as 60 to 75 mph and large hail up to quarter size.
Weather Resources:
Live Updates:
5:22 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is issued for all counties except for Milam County.
3:51 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for Mason, San Saba, and Lampasas County until 9:00 p.m.
3:30 p.m.: The primary risk for Sunday’s severe weather is damaging wind gusts which could cause power outages.
3:26 p.m.: Storms will likely move toward the I-35 corridor around 6 p.m. Most of the storms will enter the Hill Country around 6 p.m. and the Austin metro counties after 8 p.m.
Video of new Texas Tech System chancellor home at historic Lubbock property
The Texas Tech System is acquiring the historic Tudor Revival ‘English Home’ in Lubbock to serve as the new chancellor’s residence.
Money and rankings don’t make a great university. Providing opportunities for disadvantaged students and protecting academic freedom, however, do.
Case in point: Michael and Susan Dell recently surpassed $1 billion in giving to the University of Texas at Austin, launching a plan to build a new medical center and advanced research campus in north Austin.
To be sure, this is a magnanimous gift that will fund important initiatives. While enormously grateful for this contribution, I am disappointed that this gift was not accompanied with a strong message from Michael Dell admonishing the University for gutting DEI and infringing upon academic freedom.
As a colleague of mine astutely observed: “Good luck recruiting doctors and med students. The attacks on DEI and political climates will mean a lot more than rankings and money long-term.”
UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife, referencing the Dell gift, is right: “We are transforming this site into a new campus the world has never seen before.” Yes, never seen, but in a very negative and dangerous way!
Last week, I received a message from the Texas Exes: “This is your last chance to show your support during 40 Hours for the Forty Acres, UT Austin’s Texas-sized fundraising event. Can we count on you?”
My answer: “No, absolutely not. I won’t give one dime to a university that no longer is committed to diversity and preserving academic freedom.”
Having proudly taught at UT for 41 years, I am sad to say this.
– Richard Cherwitz, Ph.D. is the Ernest A. Sharpe Centennial Professor Emeritus, Moody College of Communication and Founding Director, Intellectual Entrepreneurship Consortium (IE) at The University of Texas at Austin.
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