Texas authorities solve 1982 murder case

AXTELL, Texas (AP) — Authorities in east-central Texas say they’ve solved the case of an area high school student’s murder after more than 35 years.

McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said Wednesday that Axtell-area native Talmadge Wayne Wood was the man who beat and shot 17-year-old Beth Bramlett to death in 1982. Wood died in 2014 at the age of 74.

Investigators learned Bramlett began walking home sometime after midnight from a party she attended with Wood’s daughter. Investigators believe Wood saw Bramlett on the roadway and picked her up.

McNamara says a fisherman discovered Bramlett’s body on abandoned railroad tracks outside Axtell.

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The sheriff says he met with Bramlett’s family to tell them about the solved case. He says Bramlett’s mother told him she was thankful the team “never gave up.”

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