May 11, 2025 • 27 mins
Part 1 of 2. 30-year-old Juan Leon Laureles was well-loved and respected by his family and friends. So, when he was murdered execution style and his vehicle set afire, those who knew and loved him were shocked; Leon didn't live a high-risk lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination. Through the years, as his case has grown colder and colder, the Brown County Sheriff's Department's theory of a motive makes less and less sense. However, as a gay Hispanic man, Leon Laureles killed as the result of an act of hate - of bigotry - seems very plausible. For Arlene, Leon's niece who is only a couple years younger than him and was his best friend, the uncertainty and mystery surrounding what happened and why is excruciating. Much of Leon's remaining family, in fact, live with the pain every waking moment. The Brown County Sheriff's Department is no closer to solving Leon's murder than they were the day it happened, and, perhaps, it's because they refuse to see it as it is.
If you have any information about the 1996 murder of Juan Leon Laureles, please contact the Brown County Sheriff’s Office at 325-646-5510.
You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast
Find us at https://www.gonecold.com
For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com
Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast
The Texas State Historical Association, The Austin Chronicle, The Brownwood Bulletin, and the friends and family of Leon Laureles were used as sources for this episode.
#JusticeForLeonLaureles #Brownwood #BrownwoodTX #BrownCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #HateCrime #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #TrueCrimeObsessed #CrimeDocs #InvestigationDiscovery #PodcastAddict #TrueCrimeFan #CriminalJustice #ForensicFiles
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.
If you have any information about the 1996 murder of Juan Leon Laureles, please contact the Brown County Sheriff’s Office at 325-646-5510.
You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast
Find us at https://www.gonecold.com
For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com
Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast
The Texas State Historical Association, The Austin Chronicle, The Brownwood Bulletin, and the friends and family of Leon Laureles were used as sources for this episode.
#JusticeForLeonLaureles #Brownwood #BrownwoodTX #BrownCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #HateCrime #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #TrueCrimeObsessed #CrimeDocs #InvestigationDiscovery #PodcastAddict #TrueCrimeFan #CriminalJustice #ForensicFiles
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, y'all. What follows is a partially rewritten and completely
re recorded episode about the murder of Leon Lorells in Brownwood,
Texas on May tenth, nineteen ninety six. There's plenty of
additional and clarified information as well. Before we get started, though,
I'd like to invite you to Common Ground's Coffeehouse, located
(00:23):
at eight oh nine Main Street in Brownwood, Texas, on
May thirty first, twenty twenty five, for Leon Lorellis's memorial party.
It's a three hour event that runs from eleven am
to two pm. Your presence would be very much appreciated.
Thanks y'all. Now onto the episode.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Gone Cold.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Podcasts may contain violent or graphics subject matter.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Listener discretion is advised. Brown County, Texas is located just
west of the center of the state and was formed
in eighteen fifty six. The first quarter century or so
of Brown County's existence was tough, and you'd be hard
pressed to find a better place that matched the term
(01:08):
wild West. The stagecoach running through the county seat Brownwood
from Fort Worth was a favorite robbery target for outlaws.
In fact, the infamous gunfighter John Wesley Harden enjoyed the
town's gambling dens and was generally fond of committing various
crimes in Brown County. On May twenty sixth, eighteen seventy four,
(01:32):
after pulling out his cult pistol and shooting to death
Brown County Sheriff's deputy Charlie Webb John Wesley Harden on
his twenty first birthday, fled Brown County. Many citizens of
Brownwood and the surrounding small towns formed a vigilante mob,
captured two of Harden's cousins and his brother, and hung
(01:53):
them in retaliation for the lawman's death. The folks of
Brown County had apparently just about a enough of the
seemingly unfettered outlaw activity, and Deputy Webb's murder was the
last straw. Things calmed down some, and the continued growth
of industry in the area further slowed the lawlessness. With
(02:14):
the rise of large farms and ranches, came oil discovery
in eighteen seventy nine, all of which naturally paved the
way for the railroad completed in eighteen ninety two. After that,
Brown County came into its own relatively fast. The county,
particularly the city of Brownwood, did well and prospered into
(02:36):
the twentieth century, especially due to the beginning of commercial
oil production there in nineteen seventeen. Then the Great Depression
hit smaller communities nearby like Bangs, and Early of course,
were hit especially hard. Beef, cotton, and oil demand across
the United States was way down, and it wasn't until
(02:59):
America became involved in World War II that things started
looking up for the west central Texas County. That's when
Camp Buoy was built on the outskirts of Brownwood, bringing
an ample amount of money back in the army base,
helped reinvigorate the oil industry and brought black gold back
to the forefront of Brown County's economy. Farming and ranching
(03:23):
boomed back too, and continued to diversify through the nineteen eighties. Still,
though the population remained modest. By the middle of the
nineteen nineties, around thirty five hundred folks made up the
entire county, most of whom about eighteen and a half
thousand resided in the county seat Brownwood. Like most small
(03:46):
Texas cities and towns, the residents of Brownwood are friendly
and easy to get along with, but there also exists
a lack of acceptance and downright hatred of folks who
are perceived as different, not just by those who reside
in the county, but also the leadership and perhaps law enforcement.
(04:07):
And there are receipts. We'll get into that later, as
it is an unfortunate reality that is woven into the
fabric of the tragic subject of these episodes. Violent crime
in Brownwood and Brown County in the nineteen seventies, nineteen eighties,
and nineteen nineties happened plenty, and when it did happen,
(04:28):
it seems like it was terrible. Crime statistics are difficult
to come by for the county and its cities during
this time. Data apparently was not well organized, if collected
at all. The area's violent crime rate in the nineteen
nineties wasn't much different than the rest of Texas, and
perhaps not much had changed since Brown County's days of
(04:51):
quick drawing outlaws and stagecoach robberies. Late local business owner
and activist Steve Harris told The Austin Chronicle, there is
a saying that many in our community frequently express. If
you want to get away with murder, come to Brownwood.
Several unsolved murders there are particularly brutal, senseless, and remain
(05:13):
shrouded in mystery. The nineteen ninety six murder of Leon
Laurels is one of those cases.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
My life's being broken. Basically, I want people to know
just what a wonderful person he was, that he didn't
deserve this, and I'm begging people, if they know anything,
to please speak up now. I'm the one that's still here,
fighting fighting for justice.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Ran One Lorells, who went by his middle name Leon,
(06:27):
was born in Mason County, Texas, on January third, nineteen
sixty six. He was the seventh and last born child
of Frank and Rafella Lorells. The closest sibling in age
was his sister Lily, who was twelve years older. So
by the time Leon hid his teenage years, his brothers
and sisters had all moved away, leaving Leon to care
(06:49):
for his folks, who were both ailing. At fourteen years old,
he got his drivers permit so he could legally take
his folks two hundred and thirty miles northeast to Dallas
so they could undergo dialysis as well as to local
doctor's appointments. Leon was largely responsible for keeping up the
house and cooking meals. Because of this, Leon's adolescence, his
(07:13):
formative years weren't what you'd consider normal necessarily. He'd become
a full time caretaker by his freshman year in high school.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
So Leon was very shy, quiet person. He was the last,
the youngest child. All his siblings were already adults or teenagers,
so he was pretty much, you know, just stuck to himself,
and he had to take care of his parents because
they were both very ill. So from the time he
(07:44):
was very young, he had to take care of his
parents by you know, cooking, cleaning, giving them their medication.
And then by the time he was fourteen, well he
was actually driving floor He got his permanent at fourteen,
taking them to doctor's appointments, and so he also missed
a lot of school because of that, having to drive
(08:06):
them all the way to Dallas for dialysis. So he
didn't have a normal childhood. He really missed out on
the whole lot, especially for his teenage years. That was
the hardest time. That was when his parents were very,
very ill, so he did miss out a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
That was Arlene Leon Lorellis's niece. Because of the significant
age difference between Leon and his sister, Arlene's mother. She
was only a couple years younger than him. Arlene and
Leon's formative years intersected, and their relationship grew not only
into a best friendship, but it was also one that
(08:45):
closely resembled what you'd expect to see between close siblings.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
We were in the band together. He played the trumpet,
I played the saxophone. So you know, we would at
least get to go to out of town game trips
together and you know, practice and stuff. We were together
since he was a couple of years older than me.
We didn't go to school together until high school. That
he would often drive me to school and pick me
(09:12):
up from school. And he loved music, so we would
hang out. He had this like music disco table thing,
and so we would just listen to music. His favorite
was Madonna. We lived in Brady. It was super super small,
but like almost every Saturday night there is a dance,
(09:35):
so at least once a month we would go out
there and we would dance together. And you know, it
was really small and all the other people were older
than us, though it was just me and him dancing
out there together.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Brady, Texas is around forty five miles southwest of Brownwood,
the city we talked about at the top of the episode.
Brady was and is a significantly smaller town than Brownwood.
It's where Leon Loreles grew up. In the late nineteen
eighties and nineteen nineties, the population of Brady was somewhere
(10:10):
around fifty seven hundred compared to Brownwood's approximately eighteen thousand residents.
Even with the huge responsibility of taking care of his parents,
which caused him to miss plenty of school, Leon graduated
from Brady High in nineteen eighty five, after which he
and Darlene's bond continued to strengthen. He also made quite
(10:32):
an impression on his fellow high school students, who described
him as kind, intelligent, warm, and always willing to lend
a helping hand if you needed one. Leon's transition into
adulthood did not put an end to his nurturing and
selfless character.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
I had my first child, and he was there by
my side the whole thing because it was a really
bad merriage. And so when I got divorced, I moved
to Sanandel. He moved in with me, and he took
care of my son, Jesse. He took care of him
for almost two years, and then I moved to Brownwood
(11:13):
after I had my other kids. He moved in with
us so that he could watch my kids during the
day while I worked. And then that's when he started
working at Kroger the midnight shift, so he would work
all night and then sleep for a couple of hours
and then take care of my kids until I got
home from work. And we did that for I don't know,
(11:35):
two or three years, I guess. And then he moved
in with his brother George to Bangs. So always taking
care of everyone. He took care of all of his
nieces and nephews, played with them, bought them gifts. He
was just a very loving, caring, giving person.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Bangs, where Leon Lorellis moved to live with his brother George,
is about six miles west of Brownwood. It's a tiny town,
the population fluctuating back and forth between fifteen hundred and
seventeen hundred since the nineteen eighties. Frank Lorellis, Leon's father,
died in nineteen eighty five and his mother, Ravella, in
(12:16):
nineteen eighty seven. At the Brownwood Kroger grocery store where
Leon worked, he had no shortage of friends, though our
request to speak with his friends and coworkers failed. Plenty
of posts we found on social media by them speak
highly of Leon Lorellis, and it's no wonder he was
(12:37):
an attentive and thoughtful friend to have.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
At that time, I was working at a jewelry store
and he would often come in there, and he was
forever buying gifts for his coworkers and friends for their
birthday or Christmas or whatever.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Arlene and Leon remained close. He came into the jewelry
counter where she worked only to buy gifts for others,
but also to take Arlene to lunch or just chat.
And Leon always loved visiting with his grand nieces and nephews.
He was a really big guy, but he was pretty shy.
He was more like a giant teddy bear, Arlene told
(13:16):
the Brownwood Bulletin in twenty twenty one. Leon's love and
kindness in fact left an impression on many, as you'll
hear throughout the episodes. Life, of course, gets busy and
between Leon making up for the time he lost as
a teenager taking care of his folks and Arlene raising
(13:37):
a family. They weren't in contact in nineteen ninety six.
As much as they had been in the past. Arlene
and Leon hadn't drifted apart. Rather, life as is, life
was just hectic for both of them. It wasn't just
Leon's newly found social life that kept him busy. Leon
at that point had been at Kroger for years. Was
(14:00):
the graveyard shift assistant manager at a time when many
of the stores were open twenty four hours a day.
He had plenty of responsibilities at work, something he took seriously,
and as with everything else, Leon did with genuine care
and compassion for those around him. In fact, he'd become
(14:21):
a staple of the Brownwood grocery store. The customers he
helped and his coworkers alike loved him. He would always
buy all of his coworker's birthday gifts Christmas gifts, Arlene said.
But hate and evil do not discern the characteristics such
as those that made the Leon who he was. Sometimes,
(14:42):
in fact, they act in spite of good and one
unthinkable night, one Leon Laureles was murdered not long after
the day turned to Friday, May tenth, nineteen ninety six.
A motorist traveling Farmed Market Road twenty five j one,
twenty six, A couple miles east of Brownwood, saw a
(15:04):
vehicle up in flames just off the main road on
the Gravel Access Road at about twelve twenty two. A
m nine to one one dispatch received a call from
the motorist and sent Brown County Sheriff's deputies and a
fire truck to the scene. In the meantime, a nurse
on her way home from her shift at a local
hospital saw the fire and stopped. She raced to a
(15:27):
phone and placed a second nine one one call, notifying
the authorities that there was much more than just a
fire nearby. She'd also discovered the body of a man,
thirty year old Leon Lorells, had been shot execution style
in the back of the head while kneeling his nineteen
eighty eight black Ford Thunderbird, set on fire, presumably to
(15:50):
destroy any evidence the killer might have left behind. Immediately
upon their arrival, firefighters began working to extinguish the blaze.
(16:11):
Where Lyon's body and burning car were found is on
a road that runs directly next to an outdoor gun range,
which is a few hundred feet north of the crime scene.
The area was and still is rural, since gunfire was
a normal sound to be heard there by the sporadic
houses that sit behind thickets of winged elm juniper and
(16:33):
bastard oak trees close by, it seemed obvious the spot
was predetermined by whoever killed Leon as the perfect place
to fire off a shot without garnering too much suspicion. Now,
we can't go through the details of the investigation into
the murder of Leon Lorells like we usually do, but
(16:53):
not by choice. It appears there wasn't much to it.
But here's what we do know. The Brown County Sheriff's
Department apparently had to be on the lookout issued for
a pickup truck. To say trucks are common in Texas
and particularly rural areas of Texas is an understatement, But
(17:13):
the truck that was seen by a witness slowly trailing
behind Leon's car on the gravel road was distinct. It
was described as a red and white nineteen seventy Ford
flatbed pickup with tened windows and chrome mirrors, and a
goose neck trailer hitch mounted above the bed surface. The
truck let alone the driver has never been found. It seems, however,
(17:39):
that zeroing in on such a distinct truck if it
were from brown County. Shouldn't have been a difficult task
after all, As Brownwood local business owner and activist Steve
Harris told us, it's a place where everyone knows or
knows of everyone else. Some other known details of the
(17:59):
investigation come in the form of photographs taken by the
local media. Several show Sheriff Bill Donahu's boys looking around
the scene where Leon's body was found. It was near
a fence and on the other side stands that property's owner.
Presumably the deputies appeared to be walking on top of
(18:19):
the spot where Leon's body had laid, none or wearing
shoe protection or even rubber gloves. On Thursday May ninth,
nineteen ninety six, Leon Lorells had left he and his
brother's home in Bangs to work the midnight shift at
Brownwood's Kroger store. At around eleven thirty pm, just an
(18:39):
hour before his burning vehicle was reported, a coworker said
they saw Leon's car in the Kroger parking lot. He'd
parked in the spot next to his usual space. The
witness says because another car was parked there at some
point shortly thereafter, both cars left. This wasn't like Leon
(19:00):
at all.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
He was never ever, not once late to work. He
was always early to work. He did not miss work,
and so the fact that he made it to the
parking lot at work prior to the time you started,
I feel like you would have gone in and told him, Hey,
I've got to go do something. You know, I'm going
to be late or something like that. He would not
(19:23):
have just left. There's no way he would do that.
That's not the type of person he was. And the
fact that somebody saw a car park next to his
makes me feel like he was forced to leave there.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Leon's coworker noticed his car was gone, and finding it
odd for him to have left when he was supposed
to be clocking in, she called his brother, George. The
coworker told him that Leon had come and gone. George
drove the route his brother usually took to and from work,
but there was no sign of him. He paid close
(19:54):
attention on the way back home, but still no Leon.
George called up to Kroger to let the coworker know.
At the very moment she answered, a fire truck blaring
its sirens and lights drove by. Beyond the lack of
newspaper reports in the case, a medium often used by
(20:16):
authorities to gather information via tips. The Brown County Sheriff's
Department only spoke to one family member, Leon's brother, George Arlene,
who probably knew the victim better than anyone. Was never
asked for an interview, but law enforcement did visit a
place called Mister Anthony's Holy Grounds, a coffee shop which
(20:38):
at the time catered to folks who didn't feel welcome
in many Brownwood businesses. We spoke briefly with one of
the owners of Mister Anthony's, Johonna Latino, who told us
that they made everyone feel welcome there, no matter their race, ethnicity, religion,
or sexual orientation. That was a huge deal in am
(21:00):
like Brownwood, especially at the time. It was a place
where many of the residents were not tolerant, let alone
accepting of those they were socialized into considering different or undesirable.
That's not to say all Brownwood residents are or were
this way, but it is important and relevant to Leon's
(21:21):
case to recognize the scope of the bigotry that existed
in the community. Leon Lorellis was gay, and he often
came into the copy shop. JOHNA told me back in
twenty twenty one and police during the initial investigation into
Leon's murder that on occasion, Leon met with a man
there who she didn't recognize as a Brownwood resident. Rumor
(21:44):
had it that Leon was seeing a man from his
hometown of Brady, a teacher at the high school there,
and there is perhaps reason to believe that. For one,
someone wrote in Leon's freshman yearbook derogatory words over two
of the teachers fee photographs. I will not repeat them,
but they are hate inspired words usually used toward gay
(22:06):
men with no other intention but to hurt the recipient.
Leon did not write them, and one of his teachers
singled out was a known friend of his and his
adult life. From what we understand, it wasn't just rumored
that Leon had been seeing someone from Brady, at least
in one case. Steve Harris, who along with his partner
(22:28):
went on to open a deli in Brownwood, remembers speaking
with Leon Lorellis about this.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
But about a week before he was murdered, he visited
a coffee shop that I helped out with friends of ours,
around the corner from where the Delhi is now. It
was called mister Anthony's Holy Grounds, and it was run
by Anthony Latino and JOHNA. Latino his wife, and they
created a very welcoming environment for everyone. And that's actually
where I met Leon in nineteen ninety six. I had
(22:57):
seen him at Kroger. It's a small town and my
bomb shops at Kroger, and my partner worked at Eckert's
next door to Kroger, and so I had seen him
and waved at him, and you know, everybody's friendly, but
I'd never met him until he actually came into the
coffee shop and I was working behind the counter and
he was a customer. And you know, when you're a
bartender or you're behind the counter, a lot of times
(23:19):
people that step up to the counter or sit down
at the barstool if they have something they want to
tell somebody, they do. And that's that's exactly what happened
when I first met Leon. What Leon had told me
when I was working behind the counter and he was
sitting there, And like I said, the Latinos, they create
a very open environment to where free flow of information
(23:41):
and people felt comfortable. And he told me that he
was gay, and he told me that he was dating
a coach down in Brady, Texas, and that it was
a closeted relationship, and that he really was in love
with this gentleman and he really wanted to be open,
and he didn't like being in the closet, and of
course the coach didn't want it to be public. And
(24:03):
you know, in this region, rural football is very much
he is no very macho, and he didn't want it
to be public, according to Leon, and Leon said he
was going to approach him and say, look, we're gonna
either have to be open about our love or I'm
going to go ahead and break it off with you,
because I don't see this going anywhere and I don't
want to live like this. And so I in my
(24:26):
mind and I didn't really respond much. I just listened.
I just in my mind was going like, well, you know,
in due time. It takes it takes a lot of
people a long time, especially in rural regions, to actually
come to terms with their sexuality and with the religious
and the politics of rural this rural region, it's it's
(24:47):
a taboo basically at that time, especially back in ninety six.
And so when I came back to Brownwood and found
out that Leon had been murdered, imediately, thought of that conversation,
and I called my friend at Kroger who was a
friend of his, and told her what he had told me.
(25:09):
And she said, have you gone to the Sheriff's apartment yet?
And I said, no, but I'm going to go ahead
and go and talk to him. And I told this
to the Sheriff's department, and I told this to the
private investigator out of Dallas by the name of William Dear.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
We'll get to William C. Deer a little later. There
is no evidence to be clear that Leon's murder was
the result of his wish to go public with a
relationship he was having, but it is a possibility. If
the sexual orientation of a small Texas town teacher or
coach were to be publicly announced, the chance that they'd
(25:44):
lose their job or worse is definitely high, much higher
than today, though it could be argued that not a
lot has actually changed in many such areas. Silencing someone
who you think might tell is a plausible motive, but
again it can only be considered a theory. It certainly
is not the only plausible theory. The theory that Leon
(26:07):
Laurels was the victim of a hate crime is just
as viable, if not more so. He was Hispanic and
gay and lived in an area where a culture of
hate hate that often led to violence was prevalent. On
the next episode of Gone Cold, Texas True Crime will
(26:28):
explore that theory and others, including the Brown County Sheriff's Office,
go to If you have any information about the murder
of one Leon Laureles, please contact the Brown County Sheriff's
Office at three two five six four six five point
five one zero. We'd like to thank the incredible folks
(26:51):
who contributed to this episode, Arlene, Steve Harris, and John O. Latino.
Also be sure to check out the popcast box in
the basement for Arlen's episodes about Leon. If you'd like
to join Gon Cold's mission to shine a light on
unsolved homicides and missing persons cases, get the show at
(27:14):
free and have access to bonus content. You can at
Patreon dot com slash Gone Cold Podcast. You can also
support the show by leaving a five star rating and
written review on Apple Podcasts or wherever else you listen.
However you choose to support Gone Cold, we appreciate you.
(27:35):
Thanks for listening, y'all,
Hey, y'all. What follows is a partially rewritten and completely
re recorded episode about the murder of Leon Lorells in Brownwood,
Texas on May tenth, nineteen ninety six. There's plenty of
additional and clarified information as well. Before we get started, though,
I'd like to invite you to Common Ground's Coffeehouse, located
(00:23):
at eight oh nine Main Street in Brownwood, Texas, on
May thirty first, twenty twenty five, for Leon Lorellis's memorial party.
It's a three hour event that runs from eleven am
to two pm. Your presence would be very much appreciated.
Thanks y'all. Now onto the episode.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Gone Cold.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Podcasts may contain violent or graphics subject matter.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Listener discretion is advised. Brown County, Texas is located just
west of the center of the state and was formed
in eighteen fifty six. The first quarter century or so
of Brown County's existence was tough, and you'd be hard
pressed to find a better place that matched the term
(01:08):
wild West. The stagecoach running through the county seat Brownwood
from Fort Worth was a favorite robbery target for outlaws.
In fact, the infamous gunfighter John Wesley Harden enjoyed the
town's gambling dens and was generally fond of committing various
crimes in Brown County. On May twenty sixth, eighteen seventy four,
(01:32):
after pulling out his cult pistol and shooting to death
Brown County Sheriff's deputy Charlie Webb John Wesley Harden on
his twenty first birthday, fled Brown County. Many citizens of
Brownwood and the surrounding small towns formed a vigilante mob,
captured two of Harden's cousins and his brother, and hung
(01:53):
them in retaliation for the lawman's death. The folks of
Brown County had apparently just about a enough of the
seemingly unfettered outlaw activity, and Deputy Webb's murder was the
last straw. Things calmed down some, and the continued growth
of industry in the area further slowed the lawlessness. With
(02:14):
the rise of large farms and ranches, came oil discovery
in eighteen seventy nine, all of which naturally paved the
way for the railroad completed in eighteen ninety two. After that,
Brown County came into its own relatively fast. The county,
particularly the city of Brownwood, did well and prospered into
(02:36):
the twentieth century, especially due to the beginning of commercial
oil production there in nineteen seventeen. Then the Great Depression
hit smaller communities nearby like Bangs, and Early of course,
were hit especially hard. Beef, cotton, and oil demand across
the United States was way down, and it wasn't until
(02:59):
America became involved in World War II that things started
looking up for the west central Texas County. That's when
Camp Buoy was built on the outskirts of Brownwood, bringing
an ample amount of money back in the army base,
helped reinvigorate the oil industry and brought black gold back
to the forefront of Brown County's economy. Farming and ranching
(03:23):
boomed back too, and continued to diversify through the nineteen eighties. Still,
though the population remained modest. By the middle of the
nineteen nineties, around thirty five hundred folks made up the
entire county, most of whom about eighteen and a half
thousand resided in the county seat Brownwood. Like most small
(03:46):
Texas cities and towns, the residents of Brownwood are friendly
and easy to get along with, but there also exists
a lack of acceptance and downright hatred of folks who
are perceived as different, not just by those who reside
in the county, but also the leadership and perhaps law enforcement.
(04:07):
And there are receipts. We'll get into that later, as
it is an unfortunate reality that is woven into the
fabric of the tragic subject of these episodes. Violent crime
in Brownwood and Brown County in the nineteen seventies, nineteen eighties,
and nineteen nineties happened plenty, and when it did happen,
(04:28):
it seems like it was terrible. Crime statistics are difficult
to come by for the county and its cities during
this time. Data apparently was not well organized, if collected
at all. The area's violent crime rate in the nineteen
nineties wasn't much different than the rest of Texas, and
perhaps not much had changed since Brown County's days of
(04:51):
quick drawing outlaws and stagecoach robberies. Late local business owner
and activist Steve Harris told The Austin Chronicle, there is
a saying that many in our community frequently express. If
you want to get away with murder, come to Brownwood.
Several unsolved murders there are particularly brutal, senseless, and remain
(05:13):
shrouded in mystery. The nineteen ninety six murder of Leon
Laurels is one of those cases.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
My life's being broken. Basically, I want people to know
just what a wonderful person he was, that he didn't
deserve this, and I'm begging people, if they know anything,
to please speak up now. I'm the one that's still here,
fighting fighting for justice.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Ran One Lorells, who went by his middle name Leon,
(06:27):
was born in Mason County, Texas, on January third, nineteen
sixty six. He was the seventh and last born child
of Frank and Rafella Lorells. The closest sibling in age
was his sister Lily, who was twelve years older. So
by the time Leon hid his teenage years, his brothers
and sisters had all moved away, leaving Leon to care
(06:49):
for his folks, who were both ailing. At fourteen years old,
he got his drivers permit so he could legally take
his folks two hundred and thirty miles northeast to Dallas
so they could undergo dialysis as well as to local
doctor's appointments. Leon was largely responsible for keeping up the
house and cooking meals. Because of this, Leon's adolescence, his
(07:13):
formative years weren't what you'd consider normal necessarily. He'd become
a full time caretaker by his freshman year in high school.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
So Leon was very shy, quiet person. He was the last,
the youngest child. All his siblings were already adults or teenagers,
so he was pretty much, you know, just stuck to himself,
and he had to take care of his parents because
they were both very ill. So from the time he
(07:44):
was very young, he had to take care of his
parents by you know, cooking, cleaning, giving them their medication.
And then by the time he was fourteen, well he
was actually driving floor He got his permanent at fourteen,
taking them to doctor's appointments, and so he also missed
a lot of school because of that, having to drive
(08:06):
them all the way to Dallas for dialysis. So he
didn't have a normal childhood. He really missed out on
the whole lot, especially for his teenage years. That was
the hardest time. That was when his parents were very,
very ill, so he did miss out a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
That was Arlene Leon Lorellis's niece. Because of the significant
age difference between Leon and his sister, Arlene's mother. She
was only a couple years younger than him. Arlene and
Leon's formative years intersected, and their relationship grew not only
into a best friendship, but it was also one that
(08:45):
closely resembled what you'd expect to see between close siblings.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
We were in the band together. He played the trumpet,
I played the saxophone. So you know, we would at
least get to go to out of town game trips
together and you know, practice and stuff. We were together
since he was a couple of years older than me.
We didn't go to school together until high school. That
he would often drive me to school and pick me
(09:12):
up from school. And he loved music, so we would
hang out. He had this like music disco table thing,
and so we would just listen to music. His favorite
was Madonna. We lived in Brady. It was super super small,
but like almost every Saturday night there is a dance,
(09:35):
so at least once a month we would go out
there and we would dance together. And you know, it
was really small and all the other people were older
than us, though it was just me and him dancing
out there together.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Brady, Texas is around forty five miles southwest of Brownwood,
the city we talked about at the top of the episode.
Brady was and is a significantly smaller town than Brownwood.
It's where Leon Loreles grew up. In the late nineteen
eighties and nineteen nineties, the population of Brady was somewhere
(10:10):
around fifty seven hundred compared to Brownwood's approximately eighteen thousand residents.
Even with the huge responsibility of taking care of his parents,
which caused him to miss plenty of school, Leon graduated
from Brady High in nineteen eighty five, after which he
and Darlene's bond continued to strengthen. He also made quite
(10:32):
an impression on his fellow high school students, who described
him as kind, intelligent, warm, and always willing to lend
a helping hand if you needed one. Leon's transition into
adulthood did not put an end to his nurturing and
selfless character.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
I had my first child, and he was there by
my side the whole thing because it was a really
bad merriage. And so when I got divorced, I moved
to Sanandel. He moved in with me, and he took
care of my son, Jesse. He took care of him
for almost two years, and then I moved to Brownwood
(11:13):
after I had my other kids. He moved in with
us so that he could watch my kids during the
day while I worked. And then that's when he started
working at Kroger the midnight shift, so he would work
all night and then sleep for a couple of hours
and then take care of my kids until I got
home from work. And we did that for I don't know,
(11:35):
two or three years, I guess. And then he moved
in with his brother George to Bangs. So always taking
care of everyone. He took care of all of his
nieces and nephews, played with them, bought them gifts. He
was just a very loving, caring, giving person.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Bangs, where Leon Lorellis moved to live with his brother George,
is about six miles west of Brownwood. It's a tiny town,
the population fluctuating back and forth between fifteen hundred and
seventeen hundred since the nineteen eighties. Frank Lorellis, Leon's father,
died in nineteen eighty five and his mother, Ravella, in
(12:16):
nineteen eighty seven. At the Brownwood Kroger grocery store where
Leon worked, he had no shortage of friends, though our
request to speak with his friends and coworkers failed. Plenty
of posts we found on social media by them speak
highly of Leon Lorellis, and it's no wonder he was
(12:37):
an attentive and thoughtful friend to have.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
At that time, I was working at a jewelry store
and he would often come in there, and he was
forever buying gifts for his coworkers and friends for their
birthday or Christmas or whatever.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Arlene and Leon remained close. He came into the jewelry
counter where she worked only to buy gifts for others,
but also to take Arlene to lunch or just chat.
And Leon always loved visiting with his grand nieces and nephews.
He was a really big guy, but he was pretty shy.
He was more like a giant teddy bear, Arlene told
(13:16):
the Brownwood Bulletin in twenty twenty one. Leon's love and
kindness in fact left an impression on many, as you'll
hear throughout the episodes. Life, of course, gets busy and
between Leon making up for the time he lost as
a teenager taking care of his folks and Arlene raising
(13:37):
a family. They weren't in contact in nineteen ninety six.
As much as they had been in the past. Arlene
and Leon hadn't drifted apart. Rather, life as is, life
was just hectic for both of them. It wasn't just
Leon's newly found social life that kept him busy. Leon
at that point had been at Kroger for years. Was
(14:00):
the graveyard shift assistant manager at a time when many
of the stores were open twenty four hours a day.
He had plenty of responsibilities at work, something he took seriously,
and as with everything else, Leon did with genuine care
and compassion for those around him. In fact, he'd become
(14:21):
a staple of the Brownwood grocery store. The customers he
helped and his coworkers alike loved him. He would always
buy all of his coworker's birthday gifts Christmas gifts, Arlene said.
But hate and evil do not discern the characteristics such
as those that made the Leon who he was. Sometimes,
(14:42):
in fact, they act in spite of good and one
unthinkable night, one Leon Laureles was murdered not long after
the day turned to Friday, May tenth, nineteen ninety six.
A motorist traveling Farmed Market Road twenty five j one,
twenty six, A couple miles east of Brownwood, saw a
(15:04):
vehicle up in flames just off the main road on
the Gravel Access Road at about twelve twenty two. A
m nine to one one dispatch received a call from
the motorist and sent Brown County Sheriff's deputies and a
fire truck to the scene. In the meantime, a nurse
on her way home from her shift at a local
hospital saw the fire and stopped. She raced to a
(15:27):
phone and placed a second nine one one call, notifying
the authorities that there was much more than just a
fire nearby. She'd also discovered the body of a man,
thirty year old Leon Lorells, had been shot execution style
in the back of the head while kneeling his nineteen
eighty eight black Ford Thunderbird, set on fire, presumably to
(15:50):
destroy any evidence the killer might have left behind. Immediately
upon their arrival, firefighters began working to extinguish the blaze.
(16:11):
Where Lyon's body and burning car were found is on
a road that runs directly next to an outdoor gun range,
which is a few hundred feet north of the crime scene.
The area was and still is rural, since gunfire was
a normal sound to be heard there by the sporadic
houses that sit behind thickets of winged elm juniper and
(16:33):
bastard oak trees close by, it seemed obvious the spot
was predetermined by whoever killed Leon as the perfect place
to fire off a shot without garnering too much suspicion. Now,
we can't go through the details of the investigation into
the murder of Leon Lorells like we usually do, but
(16:53):
not by choice. It appears there wasn't much to it.
But here's what we do know. The Brown County Sheriff's
Department apparently had to be on the lookout issued for
a pickup truck. To say trucks are common in Texas
and particularly rural areas of Texas is an understatement, But
(17:13):
the truck that was seen by a witness slowly trailing
behind Leon's car on the gravel road was distinct. It
was described as a red and white nineteen seventy Ford
flatbed pickup with tened windows and chrome mirrors, and a
goose neck trailer hitch mounted above the bed surface. The
truck let alone the driver has never been found. It seems, however,
(17:39):
that zeroing in on such a distinct truck if it
were from brown County. Shouldn't have been a difficult task
after all, As Brownwood local business owner and activist Steve
Harris told us, it's a place where everyone knows or
knows of everyone else. Some other known details of the
(17:59):
investigation come in the form of photographs taken by the
local media. Several show Sheriff Bill Donahu's boys looking around
the scene where Leon's body was found. It was near
a fence and on the other side stands that property's owner.
Presumably the deputies appeared to be walking on top of
(18:19):
the spot where Leon's body had laid, none or wearing
shoe protection or even rubber gloves. On Thursday May ninth,
nineteen ninety six, Leon Lorells had left he and his
brother's home in Bangs to work the midnight shift at
Brownwood's Kroger store. At around eleven thirty pm, just an
(18:39):
hour before his burning vehicle was reported, a coworker said
they saw Leon's car in the Kroger parking lot. He'd
parked in the spot next to his usual space. The
witness says because another car was parked there at some
point shortly thereafter, both cars left. This wasn't like Leon
(19:00):
at all.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
He was never ever, not once late to work. He
was always early to work. He did not miss work,
and so the fact that he made it to the
parking lot at work prior to the time you started,
I feel like you would have gone in and told him, Hey,
I've got to go do something. You know, I'm going
to be late or something like that. He would not
(19:23):
have just left. There's no way he would do that.
That's not the type of person he was. And the
fact that somebody saw a car park next to his
makes me feel like he was forced to leave there.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Leon's coworker noticed his car was gone, and finding it
odd for him to have left when he was supposed
to be clocking in, she called his brother, George. The
coworker told him that Leon had come and gone. George
drove the route his brother usually took to and from work,
but there was no sign of him. He paid close
(19:54):
attention on the way back home, but still no Leon.
George called up to Kroger to let the coworker know.
At the very moment she answered, a fire truck blaring
its sirens and lights drove by. Beyond the lack of
newspaper reports in the case, a medium often used by
(20:16):
authorities to gather information via tips. The Brown County Sheriff's
Department only spoke to one family member, Leon's brother, George Arlene,
who probably knew the victim better than anyone. Was never
asked for an interview, but law enforcement did visit a
place called Mister Anthony's Holy Grounds, a coffee shop which
(20:38):
at the time catered to folks who didn't feel welcome
in many Brownwood businesses. We spoke briefly with one of
the owners of Mister Anthony's, Johonna Latino, who told us
that they made everyone feel welcome there, no matter their race, ethnicity, religion,
or sexual orientation. That was a huge deal in am
(21:00):
like Brownwood, especially at the time. It was a place
where many of the residents were not tolerant, let alone
accepting of those they were socialized into considering different or undesirable.
That's not to say all Brownwood residents are or were
this way, but it is important and relevant to Leon's
(21:21):
case to recognize the scope of the bigotry that existed
in the community. Leon Lorellis was gay, and he often
came into the copy shop. JOHNA told me back in
twenty twenty one and police during the initial investigation into
Leon's murder that on occasion, Leon met with a man
there who she didn't recognize as a Brownwood resident. Rumor
(21:44):
had it that Leon was seeing a man from his
hometown of Brady, a teacher at the high school there,
and there is perhaps reason to believe that. For one,
someone wrote in Leon's freshman yearbook derogatory words over two
of the teachers fee photographs. I will not repeat them,
but they are hate inspired words usually used toward gay
(22:06):
men with no other intention but to hurt the recipient.
Leon did not write them, and one of his teachers
singled out was a known friend of his and his
adult life. From what we understand, it wasn't just rumored
that Leon had been seeing someone from Brady, at least
in one case. Steve Harris, who along with his partner
(22:28):
went on to open a deli in Brownwood, remembers speaking
with Leon Lorellis about this.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
But about a week before he was murdered, he visited
a coffee shop that I helped out with friends of ours,
around the corner from where the Delhi is now. It
was called mister Anthony's Holy Grounds, and it was run
by Anthony Latino and JOHNA. Latino his wife, and they
created a very welcoming environment for everyone. And that's actually
where I met Leon in nineteen ninety six. I had
(22:57):
seen him at Kroger. It's a small town and my
bomb shops at Kroger, and my partner worked at Eckert's
next door to Kroger, and so I had seen him
and waved at him, and you know, everybody's friendly, but
I'd never met him until he actually came into the
coffee shop and I was working behind the counter and
he was a customer. And you know, when you're a
bartender or you're behind the counter, a lot of times
(23:19):
people that step up to the counter or sit down
at the barstool if they have something they want to
tell somebody, they do. And that's that's exactly what happened
when I first met Leon. What Leon had told me
when I was working behind the counter and he was
sitting there, And like I said, the Latinos, they create
a very open environment to where free flow of information
(23:41):
and people felt comfortable. And he told me that he
was gay, and he told me that he was dating
a coach down in Brady, Texas, and that it was
a closeted relationship, and that he really was in love
with this gentleman and he really wanted to be open,
and he didn't like being in the closet, and of
course the coach didn't want it to be public. And
(24:03):
you know, in this region, rural football is very much
he is no very macho, and he didn't want it
to be public, according to Leon, and Leon said he
was going to approach him and say, look, we're gonna
either have to be open about our love or I'm
going to go ahead and break it off with you,
because I don't see this going anywhere and I don't
want to live like this. And so I in my
(24:26):
mind and I didn't really respond much. I just listened.
I just in my mind was going like, well, you know,
in due time. It takes it takes a lot of
people a long time, especially in rural regions, to actually
come to terms with their sexuality and with the religious
and the politics of rural this rural region, it's it's
(24:47):
a taboo basically at that time, especially back in ninety six.
And so when I came back to Brownwood and found
out that Leon had been murdered, imediately, thought of that conversation,
and I called my friend at Kroger who was a
friend of his, and told her what he had told me.
(25:09):
And she said, have you gone to the Sheriff's apartment yet?
And I said, no, but I'm going to go ahead
and go and talk to him. And I told this
to the Sheriff's department, and I told this to the
private investigator out of Dallas by the name of William Dear.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
We'll get to William C. Deer a little later. There
is no evidence to be clear that Leon's murder was
the result of his wish to go public with a
relationship he was having, but it is a possibility. If
the sexual orientation of a small Texas town teacher or
coach were to be publicly announced, the chance that they'd
(25:44):
lose their job or worse is definitely high, much higher
than today, though it could be argued that not a
lot has actually changed in many such areas. Silencing someone
who you think might tell is a plausible motive, but
again it can only be considered a theory. It certainly
is not the only plausible theory. The theory that Leon
(26:07):
Laurels was the victim of a hate crime is just
as viable, if not more so. He was Hispanic and
gay and lived in an area where a culture of
hate hate that often led to violence was prevalent. On
the next episode of Gone Cold, Texas True Crime will
(26:28):
explore that theory and others, including the Brown County Sheriff's Office,
go to If you have any information about the murder
of one Leon Laureles, please contact the Brown County Sheriff's
Office at three two five six four six five point
five one zero. We'd like to thank the incredible folks
(26:51):
who contributed to this episode, Arlene, Steve Harris, and John O. Latino.
Also be sure to check out the popcast box in
the basement for Arlen's episodes about Leon. If you'd like
to join Gon Cold's mission to shine a light on
unsolved homicides and missing persons cases, get the show at
(27:14):
free and have access to bonus content. You can at
Patreon dot com slash Gone Cold Podcast. You can also
support the show by leaving a five star rating and
written review on Apple Podcasts or wherever else you listen.
However you choose to support Gone Cold, we appreciate you.
(27:35):
Thanks for listening, y'all,
Popular Podcasts
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.