Thirty years after Juan Leon Laureles was shot in the back of the head and left beside his burning car on a rural road outside Brownwood, Texas investigators are asking the public for help again — this time with a reward that has climbed to $6,000. The 30-year-old was found on May 10, 1996, next to his torched 1988 Ford Thunderbird along FM 2126, near the access road to the Brownwood Rifle and Pistol Range.
According to the TxDPS - Central Texas Region, Laureles was shot execution-style before his car was set on fire. State investigators confirmed the same details on Friday, per the Texas Department of Public Safety, which also disclosed that Laureles' stolen credit card was used later that day at a Bealls Department Store in the area — a specific transaction investigators hope someone can still speak to.
The case began to unfold just after midnight. A passerby called 911 at 12:27 a.m. to report a vehicle fire on FM 2126, and a second driver called three minutes later to report a body lying near the burning car, according to timing details reported by Voices for Justice. The Brown County Sheriff's Office responded and found Laureles' body next to the burning Thunderbird.
A Missed Overnight Shift Raised the Alarm
Laureles worked as an overnight grocery clerk at a Kroger store in Brownwood, and coworkers grew alarmed when his car disappeared from the parking lot and he never showed up for his midnight shift, according to the nonprofit Season of Justice. That gap between his last known location and the discovery of his body has remained one of the case's few concrete anchor points for investigators over three decades.
In the days before he was killed, Laureles reportedly told family members he had experienced unexplained threats and harassment from people in the area, according to Project: Cold Case, which described him as a 30-year-old family caregiver living in nearby Bangs, Texas. Whether those reported threats connect to his murder remains an open question that investigators have not resolved.
Family Has Pushed for Renewed Attention for Years
Laureles' relatives have not let the case fade quietly. His niece, Arlene Harbison, helped organize a Central Texas Cold Case March in Brownwood in March 2024, leading supporters from the local housing authority to the sheriff's department to demand renewed investigative resources, according to Justice for Leon Laureles. The family has continued to organize marches and petitions in the years since, hoping to keep pressure on investigators.
The case is now designated a Texas Rangers featured cold case, a status that comes with financial incentives. Under Texas DPS administrative rules, Crime Stoppers rewards typically start at $3,000 but rise to $6,000 for featured cold cases, with the increase funded through the Governor's Public Safety Office, as outlined by the Texas Department of Public Safety. That $6,000 reward is available only for tips submitted before the next featured case is announced.
Part of a Statewide Effort to Clear Old Files
The featured-case program traces back to 2001, when the Texas Legislature established the Texas Ranger Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program, which operates under the state's rule that there is no statute of limitations for murder. The program now maintains a public registry of more than 140 unsolved killings, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Laureles' case is one entry in a much larger backlog. Texas law enforcement agencies faced an estimated 20,072 unsolved homicides statewide as of 2020, according to state cold-case data reported by Hoodline. Nonprofits like Season of Justice have stepped in to help close some of that gap, funding advanced forensic DNA testing for Texas agencies and contributing to recent suspect identifications in other long-dormant cases.
Anyone with information about Laureles' murder is asked to submit a tip through Crime Stoppers at 800-252-TIPS (8477). For a family that has spent three decades marching, petitioning, and waiting, the renewed reward offers another chance at answers that have eluded Brown County for a generation.
