The Sad Story of a Texas Cold Case Finally Solved After 50 Years

Once upon a time, convicted murderer Henry Lee Lucas was the Bogeyman of Texas.

Dead body? Lucas did it. Remains found in the forest? Lucas did it.

Confused? Let me paint a picture. In 1983, Henry Lee Lucas was arrested by a Texas Ranger. While he was in jail, he wrote a letter to the Williamson County sheriff claiming that he had killed many people and nobody would believe him.

Texas Rangers came out to question Lucas and he subsequently confessed to no less than six hundred murders. One of these murders was that of the 1976 homicide of Elizabeth Ann Price of Lubbock, Texas.

The Murder of Elizabeth Ann Price

On April 10, 1976, Lubbock Police were called out to 6200 North Cedar Avenue to the former Lubbock Regional Airport. Price was located deceased in the gate house. An investigation followed, evidence was collected, interviews conducted. Yet, nothing brought the case closer to identifying a culprit.

The case was added to the cold case files where it sat until 1984, when Lucas admitted to his murders. He was initially charged with the murder of Price in that year.

A Twist of Fate

If you thought it was impossible for someone to kill 600 people for so long, you would be correct. The vast majority of Henry Lee Lucas' confessed murders were found to be confabulated, thanks to an in-depth expose done by The Dallas Times Herald. The charge against Lucas for killing Price was dropped in 1985.

More Efforts For the Truth

Circling back to square one, the Lubbock Police Department continued to submit the evidence in Price's murder to various labs as they received funding. Most of these submissions yielded nothing.

Finally, in May 2022, they got a break.

DNA and a Family Tree

According to a press release from Lubbock Police Department, previously untested evidence was sent to a laboratory in Virginia, where new DNA was located.

The DNA was submitted for testing and by January 2023, thanks to advanced genealogical testing, the results were isolated to a single family tree--effectively identifying the killer of Elizabeth Ann Price.

Who Was The Culprit?

Only law enforcement knows.

The killer of Price was a juvenile at the time of the murder, meaning his name will not be released to the public.

The individual was also a stranger to Price, as law enforcement determined there was no relationship between the two. So while the book may be closed on the murder of Elizabeth Ann Price, questions that can never be answered yet remain.