Esme Barrera Murder Case Closed

Just shy of the anniversary of Esme Barrera's murder in her West Campus home early on New Year's Day 2012, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo has announced that the Austin Police Department has formally closed that case.

The prime suspect in the case, James Loren Brown, 25, was found dead after committing suicide Jan. 12. Brown was linked to at least four other attacks in the city. At a press conference today, police said they found a bloody shoe print of an Ecco shoe at the scene of the crime, which Acevedo called the "smoking gun" in the case, according to YNN. In a press release issued later this afternoon, the Travis County District Attorney's Office said:

"The investigation by the Austin Police Department supports a finding that sufficient probable cause exists to approve the filing of an affidavit for an arrest warrant for the suspect James Brown. If not for the fact that James Brown is now deceased, the Travis County District Attorney's Office would have accepted the case for prosecution for the offense of murder."

Barrera was a 29-year-old educator at Casis Elementary who was deeply involved in Girls Rock Camp and the Austin live music scene.

For more on Barrera's life, read "Excited About Life," Jan. 13.