ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Court documents detail the 1982 murder of an Abilene mother and young daughter after a recent arrest in the case which had gone cold for more than 40 years.

Last week, Billye Brown was booked into the Taylor County Jail on two counts of Murder in connection to death of Susanna Flores Brown and her daughter Francesca.

Documents filed in the case reveal that officers found both the mother and daughter dead inside their home on the 1300 block of S Bowie Street in the early morning hors of March 9, 1982.

The documents state Susanna was face up on the floor with multiple visible injuries. She also had the cord of a lamp that was next to her wrapped around her neck and had feces smeared on her that investigators believe did not come from her own body.

Francesca was also found lying on the floor. She was partially under the bed with visible injuries and a phone cord wrapped around her neck.

Investigators were later able to determine Susanna was killed by manual strangulation and that the lamp cord was staged. They also determined she suffered several blunt force injuries. Francesca was killed with the phone cord.

During his initial interview with detectives, the documents state Brown told officers he brought chicken home for supper, ate with the family, then left for work. When he returned home, he found the Susanna and Francesca dead.

The documents also state Brown did not sound “overly upset” about finding them dead and was even making jokes.

A subsequent investigation revealed long-time martial problems between Brown and Susanna, with family members and friends relaying that he seemed “controlling and abusive” and that Francesca was afraid of him and would hide under the bed.

In the weeks leading up to the murder, the documents state Susanna had asked for money to change her locks, asked if family members could help her get a gun, and told multiple people she did not want to be married to Brown.

Investigators also learned that it would not have been difficult for Brown to miss work with no one noticing, according to the documents.

Once the case had gone cold, the documents state Brown always declined to talk to police and declined to submit his DNA.

In January 2023, investigators found DNA in Susanna’s mouth that was likely from Brown and in July 2023, they finally got a warrant to get a SWAB of his DNA. While they were collecting the swab, the documents state Brown told investigators “I think I just signed my death warrant.”

Brown was released from jail after posting bonds totaling $200,000.