Numerous Texans have been the victims of homicides for decades, if not centuries, but not all have been solved. Cold cases have become the obsession of true crime fanatics across the country, but at the end of the day these are tragedies that many families are still searching for answers.
Yolanda Herrera was 23 years old when her body was found in a field near the 500 block of East Aviation Drive in Universal City on April 13, 1981. She was single, recently divorced, and was last seen in the early morning hours of April 11, 1981 leaving the bar Johnny’s Inn. Evidence suggested she was sexually assaulted prior to her death.
18-year-old Carol Joyce Deleon was classified as a Jane Doe for 28 years until DNA testing identified her as the body found along Interstate 35 in Comal County on June 4, 1981. Deleon had died from gunshot wounds but investigators were unable to match her fingerprints to missing persons’ reports in the area. Years later it was revealed that Deleon had just graduated from Edison High School and had attended a night club in San Antonio on June 3, 1981, the day before her body was found.
An arrest in the case was made in April 2023 but the charges were dismissed in October 2024 due to insufficient evidence.
Charles Bates was the manager of “PoFolks” Restaurant in Balcones Heights when he was stabbed to death on May 22, 1983. Bates was 51 years old and investigators believed Bates may have known his killer. However no witnessed were ever discovered.
Richard Anthony “Tony” Garza was 21 years old when he disappeared from southern Bexar County on September 14, 1984. The Texas Rangers write that Garza was not reported missing by his father until September 20, 1984.
Garza’s remains were discovered on January 4, 1986 in Wilson County near U.S. Highway 181 and FM 3444 (now called FM 775). Garza was reportedly working as a stable hand on a local ranch with race horses. His death was ruled a homicide.
A female body was found in rural Frio County on May 12, 1990 but was not identified as 41-year-old Lupita Cantu until DNA testing in 2011. Cantu disappeared on April 26, 1990, when she failed to pick up her children after school and her car was found abandoned 2 miles from her home.
11-year-old Heidi Lynn Seeman had completed the fifth grade at Stahl Elementary when she disappeared on August 4, 1990. Heidi had left a friends house on foot and was returning home when she disappeared, last seen walking west on Stahl Road. Her body was discovered on August 25, 1990 outside Wimberley and her death was ruled a homicide.
Samantha Zublionis, 17, was found dead on September 3, 1994 in northeastern Frio County. Zublionis, a MacArthur High School student, was living on her own and was last seen on August 30, 1994 prior to her body’s discovery. Investigators say she was in the process of getting her own apartment and had been staying at different friends’ homes in the meantime. Zublionis was last living at the Danbry Apartments on the Northeast Side prior to her killing.