TX TX - Susan Lee Eads, 20, raped and murdered, Seabrook (Harris County), 30 Aug 1983 *arrest in 2020*

[waunakeegan]

Susan Eads' body was found nude, in the brush on an empty lot on NASA Road One in Seabrook, TX. Police determined she had been raped and strangled to death by the bodysuit that she wore that night. Her 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was found in the parking lot of the Gulf States Yachts boat store (now out of business) very near to where her body was found,
but her purse missing.
The last people to see Eads alive at a place called Jason’s Club said an unknown man had asked her to dance, but she declined. Seabrook Police worked up a composite sketch of the mysterious man, but couldn't say definitively whether or not he had any involvement in her murder, as Susan had been seen leaving alone that night.


Susan was a young and vivacious aspiring model who worked at the Prickly Pear Bar in Webster, TX and also worked part-time for Charlie’s Bar in Nassau Bay. Susan was last seen leaving her job in Nassau Bay on the night of August the 30th. Susan was wearing her Clear Lake High School Class ring and a gold necklace when she left, but the items were not recovered on her body or in her car.

The case heated up when a strange man started calling Susan Eads’ mother. Most times, he would hang up without saying anything. Then one day, he started to talk. Police were there to record the calls. The caller claimed he had pictures of Eads and would show them to her mother. Whether the pictures were taken before or after Eads' death, the man would not say.

The man on the phone claimed his name was “Bill,” and that he lived in Houston on Telephone Road, but he always hung up before investigators could trace the call and "Bill" never actually made good his suggested plans to meet with Eads' mother to show her the photos he had of Susan.

Numerous leads were developed early on in the investigation but ultimately, the case turned cold.
Side note: From the pictures I found Susan looks like a blonde/dirty blonde to me, but the newspaper article I've linked calls her a "vivacious brunette."

Missing Pieces: Police hope newly released call recordings help crack cold case

The Murder of Susan Eads | gone cold podcast

 

[annemc2]

Interesting. In the KHOU clip they mention that a "language expert" from Rice was consulted but found nothing really of interest. It sounded like a very southern "twangy" accent to me (like Susan's mom).

Too bad they couldn't trace the calls. I wonder what else the recordings contain? Her mom did a really good job of engaging the caller and encouraging him to talk. The family really has gone all out in their search for who killed Susan. I'd never heard of this case before. Thanks for posting about it waunakeegan!

 

[waunakeegan]

Yes @annemc2, his voice does sound to me like it has a little twang too, but it’s a little hard to say for sure. And yes, I felt Susan’s mom was pretty amazing on those calls as well. She was so calm and focused on getting as much information out of him as she could without scaring him off the phone.

I just heard about this case today and I’m beginning to think that Susan may have been a victim of serial killer William Richard Bradford. I haven’t really had a chance to look into it more, so I may be totally wrong, but many things seem to match, including the first name of the mystery caller “Bill.”
William Bradford is more commonly associated with CA, FL, and MI but the information I have is that he has also been know to be in Texas as well, but there’s not a great timeline of where he was pre 1984 when he was arrested in CA in 1984 for the separate murders of 2 young women in the summer of 1984. It seems he bounced around between these states very often though. Bradford was an amateur photographer who used the offer of taking women’s picture to lure them to a secluded location where he would then murder them. His two confirmed victims were both raped and strangled.
William Richard Bradford | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
He had a ton of pictures of women in his possession when arrested, and although some have been identified as alive and well, many have never been identified and 1 woman has turned out to be a murder victim. His 2 confirmed murder victims pictures that he took right before he murdered them were in this picture collection as well. With Susan wanting to be a model, she would be a great target for Bradford. And he looks eerily similar to the composite sketch.


I need to go back and look at the pictures of the women that he had in his possession to see if any look like Susan.

Women photos link 1 (closeups): 50 Missing Women Linked to Serial Killer

The Murder Squad’s Bradford Photos Collection Version:

More at this link: The Other Victims of Bill Bradford - The Murder Squad

 

[annemc2]

Wow - nice summation! It all makes a lot of sense. And he does look a lot like the sketch as well. Like a lot.

 

[jb9672]

some thing I just seen and this this. this is a photo of ottis tool . he too kind of looks like the drawing. also looks like henry lee lucas.

 

[dotr]

June 11 2020
Finding a killer: How DNA helped solve a Seabrook cold case murder

Credit: Provided
''Investigators say Arthur Raymond Davis, the man who they believe killed Susan Eads, matches the 1983 sketch of a suspect believed to have killed her.
''Then a 20-year-old vivacious brunette, Susan Eads was found strangled to death with a piece of her clothing in the brush of an empty lot in August 1983. Her death has perplexed police for decades.

Now, two years into a cold case investigation that included halting the execution of a known serial killer, Seabrook police believe they’ve found the man who murdered her: Arthur Raymond Davis.''

''Davis, 35, was a Vietnam veteran and local boat captain. Investigators identified him with DNA found on the clothing used to strangle Eads.

“It was not in bad condition, which is another reason why we were able to receive or obtain a DNA profile,” said Amanda Balasco, a forensic scientist with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

With that profile, investigators turned to the FBI and genealogists, who spent months comparing the DNA to online ancestry profiles. A match came back to a distant relative and the investigation that followed helped investigators hone in on Davis''

Early in the investigation, in 2018, investigators turned to a known serial killer who was about to be executed. Anthony Shore was known as the “tourniquet killer” and lived in the area.

“He looked good for the case because the way he killed his victims and the way Susan was, unfortunately, murdered was the same way he did it,” Bess said.

Investigators had Shore’s execution postponed, but ultimately found that his DNA didn’t match. Shore was later executed.

Later, they got their break on Davis.

Davis, though, died from injuries in car crash four months after her murder. The crash was less than a mile from where she was killed.''

 

[Betty P]

Well, it's good her family knows how and hopefully can find some measure of peace. It sounds like karma caught up with him fairly quickly. Hopefully before he could harm any other women.

 

[brado]

Glad to hear this case has been solved.

 

[dotr]

Oct 4 2020
''A Houston-area cold case was cracked using forensic genealogy. It features the 1983 murder of Susan Eads, interviews with the team of investigators and KHOU 11's Grace White, who has followed the case for years on her Missing Pieces series''.

 

[LadyL]

June 11 2020
Finding a killer: How DNA helped solve a Seabrook cold case murder

Credit: Provided
''Investigators say Arthur Raymond Davis, the man who they believe killed Susan Eads, matches the 1983 sketch of a suspect believed to have killed her.
''Then a 20-year-old vivacious brunette, Susan Eads was found strangled to death with a piece of her clothing in the brush of an empty lot in August 1983. Her death has perplexed police for decades.

Now, two years into a cold case investigation that included halting the execution of a known serial killer, Seabrook police believe they’ve found the man who murdered her: Arthur Raymond Davis.''

''Davis, 35, was a Vietnam veteran and local boat captain. Investigators identified him with DNA found on the clothing used to strangle Eads.

“It was not in bad condition, which is another reason why we were able to receive or obtain a DNA profile,” said Amanda Balasco, a forensic scientist with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

With that profile, investigators turned to the FBI and genealogists, who spent months comparing the DNA to online ancestry profiles. A match came back to a distant relative and the investigation that followed helped investigators hone in on Davis''

Early in the investigation, in 2018, investigators turned to a known serial killer who was about to be executed. Anthony Shore was known as the “tourniquet killer” and lived in the area.

“He looked good for the case because the way he killed his victims and the way Susan was, unfortunately, murdered was the same way he did it,” Bess said.

Investigators had Shore’s execution postponed, but ultimately found that his DNA didn’t match. Shore was later executed.

Later, they got their break on Davis.

Davis, though, died from injuries in car crash four months after her murder. The crash was less than a mile from where she was killed.''

the witnesses and sketch artist did a good job on the sketch
glad to see some of these (c)old cases solved

 

[SolVic]

Found his obituary, guys.

Arthur Raymond Davis Jr. (1948-1984) - Find A...

 

[evilwise]

It seems to me that a man who had been pursuing her in a club might have left his DNA on her clothes without necessarily being guilty of murdering her

 

[faithx]

It seems to me that a man who had been pursuing her in a club might have left his DNA on her clothes without necessarily being guilty of murdering her

The DNA was from a sperm stain on her bodysuit, according to this article, and Susan was sexually assaulted before she was murdered. The bodysuit was also used to strangle her. Based on this information, the DNA (which matches Arthur Raymond Davis) most likely belongs to the man who raped and murdered her. MOO.

 

[evilwise]

The DNA was from a sperm stain on her bodysuit, according to this article, and Susan was sexually assaulted before she was murdered. The bodysuit was also used to strangle her. Based on this information, the DNA (which matches Arthur Raymond Davis) most likely belongs to the man who raped and murdered her. MOO.

Absolutely. I'm surprised that in-depth article is the only one that makes that distinction. Perhaps the author personally interviewed the lab workers.