A 79-year-old Colorado man has been arrested in connection with the 1981 killing of a Grapevine woman after investigators used advances in DNA technology to solve a cold case that had remained unsolved for more than 45 years.
Larry Dean Brown was arrested Thursday in Larimer County, Colorado, and charged with the February 13, 1981, murder of 35-year-old Beverly Bruneau, according to Grapevine police and court records. He is being held in the Tarrant County Jail, where he has been denied bond. His next court hearing is scheduled for July 24.
Police said the arrest followed a lengthy investigation that included renewed forensic testing and DNA analysis.
Woman Found Strangled Inside Apartment
According to an arrest affidavit, Bruneau’s boyfriend returned to their Grapevine apartment shortly after 3 p.m. on February 13, 1981, and found her lying on the living room floor with a brown electrical cord wrapped around her neck.
Investigators said the apartment showed signs of a violent struggle. Blood was found throughout the residence, a turntable had been knocked over, and Bruneau suffered facial bruises, cuts to her legs, and broken fingernails consistent with fighting off her attacker.
A sexual assault examination found no evidence of sexual assault. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled Bruneau died from strangulation during the late morning hours.
Financial Dispute Emerged as Possible Motive
Court documents allege Brown and his wife, Thelma Brown, had been involved in a long-running dispute with Bruneau over a jointly owned Dallas home that was heavily damaged in an apparent arson fire in 1980.
Investigators said Larry Brown allegedly pressured Bruneau to sign insurance documents that would have inflated repair costs and benefited a construction company in which he held an ownership interest. Bruneau repeatedly refused because she did not want to participate in insurance fraud, according to the affidavit.
Police said Bruneau’s mother told investigators that Brown confronted her daughter just three days before the killing over the insurance paperwork. Bruneau later told her mother she was frightened by the encounter.
Brown acknowledged meeting with Bruneau before her death and admitted he and his wife had been pressuring her regarding the insurance matter, investigators said.
Detectives also noted Brown had a fresh thumb injury when interviewed on the day of the homicide. According to the affidavit, he later refused additional questioning, fingerprinting, a polygraph examination, and photographs documenting his injuries.
DNA Technology Revives Cold Case
The case remained unsolved for decades until evidence collected in 1981 was reexamined.
In 2010, forensic testing identified an unknown male DNA profile in blood found on Bruneau’s nightgown. The profile was entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but no match was found.
The investigation was reopened in 2025.
Working with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado, detectives secretly collected discarded soda bottles and other items from Brown’s household trash to obtain a DNA sample.
Laboratory testing determined Brown could not be excluded as the source of the blood found on Bruneau’s clothing. According to the affidavit, the DNA profile has an estimated frequency of occurrence of approximately one in 17 billion among Caucasian individuals.
Investigators concluded that the DNA evidence, along with witness statements, Brown’s alleged motive, and other evidence developed over the years, established probable cause to charge him with murder.
Investigation Continues
Grapevine police said additional forensic testing, including confirmatory DNA analysis, remains pending and declined to release further details because the investigation is ongoing.
“The Grapevine Police Department is committed to pursuing justice for victims, regardless of how much time has passed,” the department said in a statement, WFAA reported.
Officials described the arrest as a significant development in the decades-old homicide investigation as prosecutors prepare to move forward with the case.
Provided by Dallas Express
