Beth Marie Bramlett, 17, was walking home from an end-of-summer party at Trading House Lake in Waco on August 8, 1982, when she accepted a ride from Talmadge Wayne Wood. Wood had previously stalked her and made unwanted advances. Bramlett’s body was found the next day about three miles outside Axtell, near railroad tracks; she had been shot three times and beaten.

Wood returned home that night around 4:30 a.m. covered in blood. Investigators later learned Wood asked his daughter Teresa to dispose of two guns, sold his car two weeks after the murder, and had someone close to him discard his bloodied clothes. The killing remained unsolved for decades until a cold case review identified Wood as the killer; he died in 2014 at age 74 and the case was closed.

Does anyone who knew Beth or lived in Axtell at the time have memories or information to share?