In April 1988, the quiet lakeside community of Lakeway, Texas was shaken when 45-year-old Betty Ann Thomas vanished from her home on Cold Water Lane. A violent scene inside the residence suggested a targeted attack, and two days later, Betty was found in the trunk of her Jaguar outside an Austin hotel, bound, gagged, and executed. Her murder became the first, and still the only, homicide in Lakeway’s history.

As detectives uncovered Betty’s life story and examined her home for clues, an eerie parallel emerged: her father-in-law had been murdered in a similarly cold-blooded fashion eight years earlier. Though investigators explored every possibility, including motives involving money and past associations, the case ultimately went cold.

Decades later, advancements in forensics, including an unidentified male DNA profile and recent fingerprint matches, have reignited the investigation. Nearly forty years on, Betty’s family and the Lakeway community continue to wait for justice.

If you have any information about the murder of Betty Ann Thomas, please call the Lakeway Police Department at (512) 261-2800.

Sources: The Austin American-Statesman, The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise, The San Antonio Express-News, The Houston Chronicle, The Clinton Eye, The Clinton Daily Democrat, The Lawrence Journal-World

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