GALVESTON — Nearly 45 years after the killing of 22-year-old Lois Marshall, the Galveston Police Department says it has identified a suspect through advances in forensic testing, bringing resolution to one of the city’s long-running cold cases.

Marshall was found dead on Sept. 11, 1981, inside her home in the 2300 block of Avenue O. Investigators at the time determined she had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and had been sexually assaulted, bound, gagged and killed.

According to police, evidence collected at the scene included biological material and latent fingerprints, some recovered from the victim’s body. Over the decades, investigators pursued multiple leads, using emerging forensic tools such as blood typing and DNA analysis to eliminate potential suspects.

In 2007, evidence from the case was submitted to the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory in Houston for DNA testing, producing a profile tied to items recovered during the original investigation. However, no match was immediately identified.

In February 2025, investigators re-examined fingerprint evidence collected at the scene and identified a match to William Clifford Lawrence, 70, of Texas City. Police said Lawrence had not previously been named as a suspect in the case.

Investigators attempted to interview Lawrence in March 2025, but said he declined to speak with them. A search warrant was later obtained to collect a DNA sample for comparison, which was submitted to state forensic labs.

On March 27, 2025, the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory confirmed the DNA profile developed in the case matched Lawrence, according to police. Additional DNA evidence collected from bindings used in the crime was also found to be consistent with him.

Authorities said investigators and the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office continued building the case over the following year and determined there was probable cause to charge Lawrence with capital murder in April 2026. However, police said Lawrence died of natural causes on April 19, 2026, before charges could be filed.

The district attorney’s office documented the finding of probable cause, and the Galveston Police Department has since closed the case.

Investigators said Lawrence had lived in or traveled through multiple locations over the years, including Texas cities such as Galveston, Houston, Austin, Baytown and Victoria, as well as areas in Louisiana.

Police credited decades of investigative work and cooperation between agencies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory and the Texas Rangers, in resolving the case.

“This was a brutal and deeply disturbing crime,” investigators said. “William Clifford Lawrence is the only suspect identified in this case.”