May 10, 1996. Brown County, Texas. A burning car belonging to 30-year old Leon Laureles is found next to a remote road. Leon’s body is lying near the vehicle and he has been shot though the back of the head, execution-style. One hour earlier, Leon had left his residence to drive to work for his shift at a supermarket, but even though his co-workers recalled seeing his car in the parking lot, Leon never entered the store. Since Leon was gay, there is speculation that his murder might have been a hate crime or he was killed because he saw something he wasn’t supposed to, but there are no conclusive answers about what happened. At the request of the victim’s aunt, Arlene Harbison, this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” will explore the tragic and senseless murder of Leon Laureles, which has gone unsolved for over 26 years.

If you have information about this case, please contact the Brown County Sheriff’s Office at (325) 646-5510 or the Heart of Texas Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Leon Laureles GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/leon-laureles-private-detective-and-memorial

Special thanks to our sponsor, Avast.com!

Additional Reading:

https://www.bigcountryhomepage.com/news/1996-murder-investigation-of-brownwood-native-remains-unsolved/

https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/news/crime/2021/05/10/brownwood-leon-laureles-cold-case-murder-remains-unsolved/6699908002/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/788740838

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/766487712

“The Fall Line” podcast episode

“Gone Cold” podcast episode (Part 1) (Part 2)

“Crawlspace” podcast episode

“The Murder in My Family” podcast episode

“Texas Wine & True Crime” podcast episode

“I Said God Damn!” podcast episode

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

“The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on Vokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.