The 35-year-old murder investigation into the death of 17-year-old Axtell teen, Beth Bramlett, has been solved, the McLennan County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday afternoon.
Sheriff Parnell McNamara said on August 8, 1982, Bramlett was shot three times by Talmadge Wayne Wood and left to die by some railroad tracks.
Bramlett was walking home from an end of summer party at Trading House Lake in Waco when she was picked up by Wood's daughter, Teresa, McNamara said. According to McNamara, Teresa's car ran out of gas and Bramlett told her she would find another ride.
As she continued her walk home, Wood picked her up at Wilbanks Dr. in Waco. Detectives say Bramlett flagged down Wood on the side of the road because she needed a ride.
The Sheriff said Wood had a history of stalking Bramlett and that she had denied his advances.
McNamara also said Wood had a history of abusing his wife and other family members.
"We found out that this guy beat his wife on a regular basis," Sheriff McNamara said. "Beat her so bad one night he broke her arm and put her in the hospital. This guy is about as low life rat trash as you can get."
Bramlett's body was found three miles outside of Axtell. Following the murder, officials said Wood returned home around 4:30 a.m. A witness told authorities Wood was covered in blood. Residents who live in Axtell said this is a crime that still haunts them.
“It was real sad for our little community. We never had anything like that happen before,” Axtell resident Larry Waltz said.
Waltz said his son was the one who took Bramlett to an end of summer party at Trading House Lake.
“My kids told me she was at a party and got aggravated and walked off. That was the last time he seen her alive,” said Waltz.
Investigators said Wood asked his daughter to get rid of two guns, sold his car two weeks later, and had someone close to him get rid of the bloodied clothes.
More than 60 people were interviewed during the investigation.
Four months after the murder, officials said Wood broke into the home of a woman and her son. He shot the mother in the head and the son in the neck. However, the son was able to grab a shovel and knock him out, according to the Sheriff's Office. Wood received probation for attempted murder. Both victims survived the incident.
Four years after the attempted murder, Wood attempted to carjack and possibly kidnap an elderly woman at Richland Mall outside the Dillard's, according to the Sheriff's Office. He served time in state prison for that offense.
Terry Fuller, a detective with the McLennan County Sheriff’s Department, who is from Axtell, said that Wood was a known terrorizer.
“Everybody was scared to death of Wayne,” said Fuller. Wayne threatened to kill me in 1974. Nobody would say a word about Wayne. He would have killed you.”
Officials said a lot of things put Wood at the scene. They had several other suspects but none of them worked.
McNamara said they know Wood is the guy who committed the crime.
Wood died of natural causes in 2014
Watch the full press conference below: