Slain woman found near Texas highway 44 years ago, cops say. She’s now been identified

The body of a slain Texas woman has been identified nearly half a century after it was discovered, police said.

The case dates back to the summer of 1979 when a deceased woman was found alongside a Texas highway, according to a July 27 news release from the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office.

At the time, officials could not determine her identity but believed the woman to be between 16 and 40 years old.

A subsequent investigation into her death proved unsuccessful, but five years later, in 1984, self-proclaimed serial killer Henry Lee Lucas confessed to murdering the woman, police said.

Then her case remained cold for the next 35 years.

Police took another crack at it in 2019 when they had the woman’s grave exhumed in order to collect DNA samples.

Over the next several years, it was determined that the genetic material obtained from the grave was not enough to provide an identification.

Othram Inc., a forensic genealogy company in Texas, later offered to assist the case and was sent samples for testing, police said. Still, a full DNA profile of the woman proved elusive.

A second exhumation of the grave was conducted in 2022, at which point further DNA samples were gathered and given to Othram, police said.

This year, Othram obtained a complete DNA profile, and the woman’s family tree was established, which finally allowed police to determine her identity.

The woman’s name was Kathy Ann Smith. She had been born on July 19, 1956.

She had a different birth name and had been adopted at a young age, police said.

“The family has been notified of the location of her remains,” police said. “Kathy Smith was 22 years old, almost 23, at the time of her murder.”

Bastrop County is located about 35 miles southeast of Austin.

Intoxicated man pushed 7-year-old into pool, Oklahoma cops say. They couldn’t swim

Worker burned during fire died days later, NC officials say. Now business faces fines

Friend’s Facebook post reminds woman to check lottery tickets. She’s ‘stunned’ by win