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A Ray Of Hope: Fort Bend County Receives $10,000 Grant To Help Solve A 48-Year-Old Cold Case Murder

In December of 1973 Fort Bend County went through horrific loss when Julie Esther Hawkins, only 16 years old, was found dead in the woods near Clodine Road and FM 1464. The autopsy confirmed she had been strangled, as reported by the CW39 Houston News

The Hawkins case was closed and considered a cold case murder, until now, 48 years later, thanks to a $10,000 grant provided by  a nonprofit organization, Season of Justice. A group dedicated to providing funding to law enforcement agencies and families to help solve cold cases.  

SOJ provides grants for advanced DNA testing. With this state of the art technology, which was’t available in the 1970s, the FBCSO plans to conduct additional DNA testing using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) in order to obtain a full DNA profile. 

“We pray that this revolutionary technology will bring us one step closer to solving this case and bringing closure,” said Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan. “The Fort Bend County Sheriff`s Office continues to aggressively investigate violent crime cases dating back to the early `70s.”

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