Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
UNIVERSAL CITY, Texas — More than four decades after Yolanda Herrera was found beaten to death in a Universal City greenbelt, investigators say advances in DNA technology have finally led them to the man responsible for her murder.
Kelly Lee Brower was arrested in Cottonwood, Arizona, in connection with Herrera's 1981 killing. Investigators said Brower confessed when they traveled to Arizona to interview him.
Herrera was last seen during the early morning hours of April 11, 1981, leaving Johnny's Inn in Schertz. Investigators believe she was walking home to Universal City.
Two days later, two children walking to school discovered Herrera's body in a greenbelt off East Aviation Boulevard. She had been beaten, and investigators found evidence that she had been sexually assaulted.
The case remained unsolved for decades, but it was never forgotten.
"It never was removed from someone's desk," Assistant Chief Steve Mahalski said. "It was always there for us, and we had a commitment to get it solved."
The evidence that would eventually break the case had been collected during Herrera's autopsy in 1981. Investigators preserved DNA from underneath her fingernails along with another DNA sample.
As DNA technology improved, investigators repeatedly returned to that evidence.
In 2021, testing produced a male DNA profile, but there were no matches in available databases. Investigators interviewed numerous people and collected DNA samples for comparison, but still came up empty.
Genealogical testing later pointed investigators toward the surname Brower, but there wasn't enough DNA remaining to continue testing with the technology available at the time. Rather than risk using up the small amount of evidence they had left, investigators waited.
That patience paid off.
In 2025, the remaining sample was sent to Othram Laboratories, which investigators said had developed technology capable of working with the small amount of DNA that remained. Genetic genealogy eventually pointed investigators to Brower.
Investigators then learned Brower had lived in Universal City at the time Herrera was killed.
Authorities tracked him to Cottonwood, Arizona, and obtained DNA for comparison in October 2025. Investigators said the sample matched the DNA preserved from Herrera's autopsy.
Universal City investigators and Texas Rangers traveled to Arizona in 2026 to interview Brower. Investigators said he confessed during that interview.
They do not believe Herrera and Brower knew each other.
"It appeared that it happened to be like an opportunity," Corporal Caitlin Brown said. "She happened to be there walking home. He happened to be in a bar, saw her. So we don't have any indication that he knew her or she knew him."
For investigators who spent years revisiting the case, the arrest also meant finally being able to give Herrera's family an answer after 45 years.
"I spoke to the family on Thursday when we got back into town, and it was just surreal after 45 years to give them that," Brown said. "It's just a pride and a joy that you can't describe."
Mahalski said the passing decades created one of the investigation's biggest challenges. Witnesses who may have known Herrera or seen her during her final hours had died, while investigators had no way of knowing whether the person connected to the DNA evidence was still alive.
"We never gave up on Yolanda, for her or for her family," Mahalski said. "Never stopped looking."
Brower remains in Arizona and is expected to be brought back to Bexar County.
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UNIVERSAL CITY, Texas — More than four decades after Yolanda Herrera was found beaten to death in a Universal City greenbelt, investigators say advances in DNA technology have finally led them to the man responsible for her murder.
Kelly Lee Brower was arrested in Cottonwood, Arizona, in connection with Herrera's 1981 killing. Investigators said Brower confessed when they traveled to Arizona to interview him.
Herrera was last seen during the early morning hours of April 11, 1981, leaving Johnny's Inn in Schertz. Investigators believe she was walking home to Universal City.
Two days later, two children walking to school discovered Herrera's body in a greenbelt off East Aviation Boulevard. She had been beaten, and investigators found evidence that she had been sexually assaulted.
The case remained unsolved for decades, but it was never forgotten.
"It never was removed from someone's desk," Assistant Chief Steve Mahalski said. "It was always there for us, and we had a commitment to get it solved."
The evidence that would eventually break the case had been collected during Herrera's autopsy in 1981. Investigators preserved DNA from underneath her fingernails along with another DNA sample.
As DNA technology improved, investigators repeatedly returned to that evidence.
In 2021, testing produced a male DNA profile, but there were no matches in available databases. Investigators interviewed numerous people and collected DNA samples for comparison, but still came up empty.
Genealogical testing later pointed investigators toward the surname Brower, but there wasn't enough DNA remaining to continue testing with the technology available at the time. Rather than risk using up the small amount of evidence they had left, investigators waited.
That patience paid off.
In 2025, the remaining sample was sent to Othram Laboratories, which investigators said had developed technology capable of working with the small amount of DNA that remained. Genetic genealogy eventually pointed investigators to Brower.
Investigators then learned Brower had lived in Universal City at the time Herrera was killed.
Authorities tracked him to Cottonwood, Arizona, and obtained DNA for comparison in October 2025. Investigators said the sample matched the DNA preserved from Herrera's autopsy.
Universal City investigators and Texas Rangers traveled to Arizona in 2026 to interview Brower. Investigators said he confessed during that interview.
They do not believe Herrera and Brower knew each other.
"It appeared that it happened to be like an opportunity," Corporal Caitlin Brown said. "She happened to be there walking home. He happened to be in a bar, saw her. So we don't have any indication that he knew her or she knew him."
For investigators who spent years revisiting the case, the arrest also meant finally being able to give Herrera's family an answer after 45 years.
"I spoke to the family on Thursday when we got back into town, and it was just surreal after 45 years to give them that," Brown said. "It's just a pride and a joy that you can't describe."
Mahalski said the passing decades created one of the investigation's biggest challenges. Witnesses who may have known Herrera or seen her during her final hours had died, while investigators had no way of knowing whether the person connected to the DNA evidence was still alive.
"We never gave up on Yolanda, for her or for her family," Mahalski said. "Never stopped looking."
Brower remains in Arizona and is expected to be brought back to Bexar County.
_______________
Stay up to date with our social media:
WOAI on Instagram: instagram.com/news4sa
WOAI on Facebook: facebook.com/News4SA
WOAI on Twitter: twitter.com/news4sa
Subscribe to WOAI on YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCpsuSNiFkl4T4owtIb8QqWQ/?sub_confirmation=1
Daily News Playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyFwDPyddKc7LjpC-mcnv_GVlPbuj84-M
For more information, visit news4sanantonio.com
Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:
Email us: NewsDesk@news4sanantonio.com
Call the Newsroom: 210.442-6397
WOAI is a TX based station and an NBC Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today.
#WOAI #NEWS4SA #NEWS4SanAntonio #WOAI4 #SanAntonio
