Ector County’s 40-Year-Old Cold Case Finally Solved!!!

Solving a cold case is rare, especially a 40-year-old cold case. Velma Nesset went missing in 1982 and her family and friends finally have some answers.

THE CRIME

Velma was an employee at the Permian Mall, who would walk to and from work. On April 19, 1982, she never showed up for her shift. Her family and co-workers grew worried and filed a report with the Odessa Police Department. Velma's body was found later in a drainage culvert in the 4200 block of Tanglewood partially nude. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered.

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HOW IT WENT COLD

In 1983 Odessa Police arrested a man who confessed to the crime. He was soon acquitted due to lack of evidence and a false confession. For almost 40 years there were no breakthroughs in Velma's case until recently.

THE BREAKTHROUGH

In 2020 Velma's case became eligible for the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative also known as SAKI. This program provides funding for agencies across the US to help unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides. This led to Advanced DNA testing and genealogy research through Bode Technologies. The testing led to them identifying Billy Wayne Ludwigson, through normal forensic DNA testing.

THE FINAL ARREST

The Texas Rangers and the Odessa Police Department arrested Billy Wayne Ludwigson in July 2020 in Denver, Colorado. There they were able to obtain his confession in Velma's murder.

Luswigson was extracted to Texas in October 2020 and indicted by an Ector County jury on murder charges. The 62-year-old pleaded guilty on August 9, 2024, and was charged with 20 years in jail.