‘Heinous’ murder of woman in Lubbock solved after nearly 50 years

Note: The video above reflects top headlines from morning of May 1, 2024.

LUBBOCK, Texas — The Lubbock Police Department on Wednesday announced the Metro Special Crimes Unit, along with multiple law enforcement agencies, has solved the murder of Elizabeth Ann Price, who was killed nearly five decades ago.

LPD said the suspect was a juvenile at the time of the murder, and a stranger to Price.

Police said Price was found dead at a gate house of the old Lubbock airport in the 6200 block of North Cedar Avenue on April 10, 1976. According to LPD, the scene was expansive. Evidence was collected, but police investigators were limited due to lab technology at the time.

More than 260 interviews were conducted from 1976 to 1984. Police said Henry Lee Lucas was charged in 1984 after a false confession. The charge was later dropped for Lucas, who made multiple false confessions over the years.

Evidence was submitted again years later in 2002, with the hopes that new DNA technology would lead to a break, but it did not. Police said in August of 2022, DNA was submitted to a testing group that was able to trace down a family tree.

One of the individuals, who was deceased, had DNA available to compare to police evidence. The DNA was sent back to a testing lab in Lubbock. On January 18, 2023, investigators got a match for the DNA and determined who was responsible for Price’s “heinous” murder.

LPD said Texas state law does not allow the suspect’s name to be released since the individual was a juvenile at the time of the murder. Since the suspect has passed away, LPD said no charges will be filed.

“The Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit would like to thank the Texas Rangers Cold Case team, the Lubbock Department of Public Safety Lab, the Lubbock Police Department’s Forensic Investigations Unit, and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia. Without the tireless work from dozens of detectives throughout the years, this result would not have been possible,” LPD stated in a press release.