BRAZOS COUNTY, TX — DNA evidence has confirmed the identity of the suspect in a 1981 cold case on Tuesday.
The Brazos County Sheriff's Department confirmed that James Otto Earhart was the suspect in the death of Virginia Freeman.
Earhart was convicted in Brazos County in 1987 and was executed by lethal injection. He was convicted for kidnapping and murdering a 9-year-old on Aug. 11, 1999.
On Dec. 1, 1981, Freeman responded to a call from an unidentified person who stated that they had cash and wanted to invest in some property. She met with the suspect at a house located south of College Station.
Her husband reported her missing and later found her at the location.
Freeman was attacked and dragged from the front to the side of the house. There were signs of a struggle. Freeman’s wounds included being stabbed multiple times, strangled and bludgeoned on the head with a piece of broken concrete, according to the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office.
