Texas authorities believe a serial killer on the loose after two women’s bodies are found three miles apart in the Austin area, years apart

Authorities in Texas are hunting for the suspected serial killer after linking the DNA between two murder scenes six years apart

Austin PD had been investigating the recent killing of Alyssa Ann Rivera when they linked DNA with a previous unsolved case

Rivera, 34, was found dead inside an abandoned home on June 21, with her death now linked to the six year old case of Alba Jenisse Aviles Marti

Alba Jenisse Aviles Marti, 28, was found dead inside of he silver Ford sedan in Bastrop County April 14th, 2018, just three miles from the house where Rivera was found

Police say aside from DNA left behind, both women were assaulted and killed in the same manner

Alyssa Ann Rivera [photo], was found dead inside an abandoned home on June 21. She was last seen walking with a man she met at a bar. Investigators have traced DNA at the scene to an unsolved murder case, in similar style

Is there a serial killer loose in Texas? Authorities are hunting for a suspected serial killer who has been linked by DNA to two murder scenes in close proximity, in neighboring Travis and Bastrop counties, albeit six years apart. 
The Austin Police Department said they had been investigating the recent killing of Alyssa Ann Rivera when they linked DNA with a previous unsolved case.
Rivera, 34, was found dead inside an abandoned home on June 21.
DNA evidence at the scene, as well as similarities in the crime links it to the six year old case of Alba Jenisse Aviles Marti, officials said.

Austin Police Dept. released a video that shows Rivera walking with a male ‘person of interest’ just before she was killed. The person is described as a short, possibly Hispanic man

Jenisse Aviles, 28, was found inside a silver Ford sedan in Bastrop County in 2018, just a few miles from where Rivera was found.
Authorities say it isn’t just the DNA at the scene that links the two, but the nature of the crime as well. Both women were sexually assaulted. Both died of strangulation, officials said. 

Alba Jenisse Aviles Marti, 28, was found dead inside of he silver Ford sedan in Bastrop County April 14th, 2018, [photo], just three miles from the house where Rivera was found. Police say aside from DNA left behind, both women were assaulted and killed in the same manner

Investigators also said that Aviles’ killer met her at a bar in Austin called Club Caribe, just three miles from the spot where Rivera was killed. 
Police have also since released a video that shows Rivera walking with a male ‘person of interest’ just before she was killed. 
Sgt. Nathan Sexton of the Austin Police Department said: ‘There was a DNA link found between this case, and April 14th, 2018, in the unsolved murder of Alba Jenisse Aviles.
‘Both victims are believed to have been sexually assaulted— it was DNA found in both scenes, like multiple sources of DNA at both scenes,’ Sexton said.  

According to Sgt. Sexton, Austin PD and Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office are working closely together to trace the source of the DNA left at the crime scenes

Even with the new DNA evidence, they have been unsuccessful in using a DNA index system to track the person, meaning they likely haven’t been arrested before. 
Sexton added: ‘Unfortunately that suspect does not come back to CODIS, what we call the national database, so they’re not in that system.’
According to Sexton, the department and Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office are working closely together to turn the DNA into a suspect. 
He added: ‘We’re trying to compare notes and see if there’s anyone that may come up in both cases or may have lived here; so it will take quite a bit of research in going through the data.’
When asked if there were any other murders that were linked, he replied: ‘There could be more.’

Police believe the two women did not know each other, however they have now been joined together in death

A GoFundMe has since been set up for the family of Rivera, who said in a post to the fundraiser: ‘As many know, our daughter, Alyssa Rivera was found murdered. 
‘We still have no answers as to how or why. But in the meantime we need to lay her to rest and are asking for any assistance in doing so. 
‘Alyssa was the most kind and big hearted soul. And anyone who knew her knew that. 
‘Please help us give our daughter the burial she deserves. Every bit helps and is greatly appreciated.’