With the help of modern DNA technology, Bedford Detectives were able to solve the 1986 homicide of Janet Elaine Love.
A Bedford homicide case of a 32-year-old woman has been solved after 34 years as a Texas cold case, the city announced Monday.
Janet Love was found murdered in her apartment off L. Don Dodson Drive on April 24, 1986. Two of Love's co-workers showed up at her apartment after she missed work as a ticket agent for Delta Airlines. Police were able to determine that Love had been sexually assaulted and then shot and killed.
For years, investigators followed up with possible leads, but no suspect could be identified. That is until recently. With modern DNA technology, investigators were able to examine samples left at the scene. That evidence was then entered in the FBI Combine DNA Index system (CODIS). Detectives continued to investigate, but the sample never match another offender entered into CODIS.
In 2020, a Texas Department of Public Safety grant called the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Program would further fund DNA testing. With the help of a genealogist and those records, the suspect’s name was discovered.
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In September, the Bedford Police Department Identified Ray Anthony Chapa as the culprit of Love’s murder. Police say that Chapa lived in a nearby apartment complex less than 1,000 feet away.
Chapa passed away from a terminal illness in January 2021. Police are continuing to investigate any additional offenses Chapa could have committed in the DFW area or other areas he lived in such as Chicago or Montana
If you believe that Chapa may have been connected to any other crimes call the Bedford Police Department at 817-952-2647.
