Summary

On July 28, 1988, officers with the Silsbee Police Department were dispatched to a residence located at 1280 Cooks Road in Silsbee, Texas. When officers arrived, 26-year-old Caroline Susan Bolen's body was discovered inside her home. The initial investigation revealed that Ms. Bolen had been brutally sexually assaulted and murdered by an unknown suspect. Tragically, her six-year-old son was left alone inside the residence with his deceased mother after the assailant left the scene.

Despite extensive investigative efforts and the development of initial leads, the case eventually went cold, though it remained open and under periodic review.

In 2019, the case was reassigned to Investigator Justin Holt of the Silsbee Police Department’s Special Assignment Unit. During the same time, the case was also being actively reviewed by Texas Ranger Brandon Bess with the Texas Rangers Company A Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program (UCIP).

An STR profile was developed from biological evidence recovered at the scene, including blood found beneath the victim’s fingernails and other biological evidence recovered during the autopsy. The STR profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but there was no match to a known individual. The investigators from the two agencies collaborated and began a comprehensive re-examination of the case, including the collection and reanalysis of physical evidence, as well as evaluating advancements in forensic technology.

Using funding provided by Season of Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting unresolved violent crime investigations, investigators submitted evidence to Othram in October of 2022. At Othram, scientists work to build a SNP profile using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. This profile was used in a forensic genetic genealogy search led by Othram's forensic genetic genealogy team. This search provided law enforcement with new investigative leads.

These leads reinvigorated the investigation into identifying Bolen's killer, leading detectives to relatives of her killer, who is now identified as Allen Wayne Mosley. Mosley lived on a street that ran adjacent to Bolen's Silsbee, Texas home. At the time of the offense, Mosley was on court ordered supervision for a prior rape charge in Jasper County, Texas which involved the stranger abduction of a minor.

Investigators believe that Mosley traveled to Bolen's home in the early morning hours of July 28, 1988. It was reported that the victim heard Mosley arrive at her home and she thought that it was her boyfriend, as she had visited his home earlier that evening. Mosley is believed to have forced his way into the home upon the victim coming to the door, where he then sexually assaulted Ms. Bolen, with her 6-year-old child present, before ultimately killing her by asphyxiation as she resisted, leaving behind critical biological evidence.

Witness information, from the time, indicated that a male subject matching Mosley’s description was observed leaving the residence the following morning. Mosley reportedly allowed a family member to drive his vehicle to Galveston the same morning, removing its presence from the area. It was learned that Mosley and his family relocated to Oklahoma after the killing of Bolen. Mosley died by suicide in 2006 while living in Tulsa Oklahoma.

This is the 27th publicly announced case in the State of Texas where officials leveraged Othram’s identity inference pipeline. Explore other cases on Othram’s website.