Bexar County, TX — More than four decades after 23-year-old Yolanda Herrera was sexually assaulted and beaten to death, the Texas Rangers and Universal City Police Department say modern forensic testing has identified the man responsible for her 1981 murder.
Kelly Lee Brower, 68, was arrested August 19 in Cottonwood, Arizona, and is expected to be extradited to Texas to face capital murder charges.
Herrera’s nude body was discovered by children in a field near the 500 block of East Aviation Drive on April 13, 1981. Authorities said she had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death after she was last seen walking home from a local bar several days earlier.
Investigators pursued numerous leads over the years, but known suspects were eliminated and the case remained cold for more than 40 years.
A breakthrough began in late 2020 when the case was selected for the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. Evidence collected during Herrera’s original autopsy was submitted for advanced DNA testing and genealogy research.
In 2021, BODE Technologies conducted a surname search that generated an investigative lead and extracted a small amount of DNA from critical evidence, although there was not enough at the time for genealogy testing.
In 2025, Othram Laboratories conducted additional analysis and used Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy to identify a possible suspect. DPS said the testing and subsequent investigation ultimately led authorities to Brower.
Investigators traveled to Arizona and interviewed Brower multiple times. According to DPS, Brower confessed to Herrera’s murder.
He was subsequently arrested and is expected to be extradited to Texas for prosecution.
SEXUAL ASSAULT & ABUSE RESOURCES
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline:
800-656-HOPE (4673)
Texas Abuse Hotline for suspected child abuse or neglect:
1-800-252-5400
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.