Indictment served in double homicide cold case
December 8th, 2023
Billye Brown of Abilene has been officially indicted with two counts of murder in the first degree. According to Taylor County Court documents, Brown was indicted Thursday as a suspect in the 1982 murder of his wife and stepdaughter.
Grand jurors believe that Brown did “intentionally and knowingly cause the death of an individual, namely Susanna Flores Brown, by manual strangulation.” Flores Brown was 30 years old at the time.
In the secondary indictment, grand jurors believe that Brown also caused the death of “Francesca Martinez, by strangling her with a ligature consisting of a telephone cord.” Francesca was only 8 years old at the time of her alleged murder.
According to court documents, Brown was very controlling and abusive during his three-year relationship with Flores Brown. Flores Brown had said multiple times that she was afraid of him and went so far as to attempt to procure a handgun. The Abilene Police Department had also responded to multiple disturbance calls at their shared home.
Both victims were found in their home by Brown himself, and it was noted in court documents that Brown did not seem very upset at the sight of his deceased wife and stepdaughter. Responding officers also noticed that there were no signs of forced entry into the home, and no sign of a struggle.
While the double homicide case remained cold for over 40 years, detectives decided to revisit the case a third time earlier this year.
On January 17, the Department of Public Safety’s laboratory was able to partially identify the male DNA found on Flores Brown’s body at the original scene of the crime. Laboratory staff discovered that the DNA was more than 22,000 times more likely to have come from Billye Brown than any other individual.
If convicted, Brown, now 65, could face five to 99 years in prison, or life in prison. According to the district attorney’s office, he will not be facing a possible capital punishment sentence.
At the time of publication, a trial date has not yet been set. To date, Brown remains a free man after being released on bond October 28.
All suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
