Solved: Cops Crack 35-Year-Old Cold Case Murder of Elderly Man with Help from Popular TV Show
Since 1984, Norma Allbritton has managed to dodge accusations that she killed her husband, Johnnie Allbritton.
But on July 1, police arrested 84-year-old Allbritton for the murder of her husband, who was 64 years old on the day he was found dead in his Texas home, shot five times.
Allbritton was 49 years old at the time of the 1984 murder. Police considered her a suspect at the time, but she successfully evaded a polygraph test and subsequent questioning — getting away with alleged murder for the majority of her life.
According to a press release from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the cold case was reinvestigated by a team of local investigators joined by members from the popular reality crime television show, “Cold Justice.”
With the resources provided by “Cold Justice” leading to new evidence in the case, the LCSO was able to issue an arrest warrant for Allbritton for the murder of her husband.
The sheriff’s office has not been able to comment on precisely what new evidence led to solving the 35-year-old cold case, but the story is scheduled to air on “Cold Justice” early next year, according to WTTG.
“This truly was a team effort,” Sheriff Kevin Ellis told the Palestine Herald-Press. “Without ‘Cold Justice,’ I don’t think we could’ve progressed as we have — but they also couldn’t have done it without the LCSO staff.”
Judy Robinson, Johnnie Allbritton’s daughter and Norma Allbritton’s stepdaughter, is not the least bit surprised over the arrest.
“Well, we’ve always kind of thought that she was the main suspect, so that part wasn’t a shock,” Judy Robinson told KBTX.
“But it was an emotional day when she was arrested because I have a younger brother that was raised by her. That is my main concern right now,” she continued. “Because I know that he’s probably completely heartbroken because he was kind of kept out of a lot of this stuff you know that was going on that I knew.”
Authorities said the scene of the crime had been arranged to suggest a break-in. Norma claimed not to have been home at the time of the murder, but police asked her to submit to a polygraph test.
Allbritton evaded the polygraph test by telling law enforcement she was unavailable because she had accidentally dropped a firearm and shot herself, USA Today reported. The test was never rescheduled, and the burglar theory remained.
Three years before Johnnie died, his 13-year-old daughter was found dead from a gunshot wound, which was ruled a suicide. But police are now reinvestigating the teenager’s death, believing that Allbritton may have played a role.
Robinson believes her stepmother was living a secret life, possibly having an affair at the time of her father’s death. After decades of watching Allbritton live her life freely, Robinson can finally find closure for her father’s untimely death.
“The devil has many disguises. We are dealing with pure evil in disguise,” Robinson wrote on Facebook. “Believe me when I say I appreciate all the hard work of the investigators and the cooperation of those who had knowledge and willing to share it.”
Robinson told KBTX that her father was a “good man” who did not deserve to be murdered. “He never did anything to deserve what he got,” she said.
Ellis told the Herald-Press that he and his team will not stop investigating until all possible crimes Allbritton may be involved in are examined.
Liftable, a section of The Western Journal, has reached out to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office for comment but has not yet received a response. We will update this article if and when we do.
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