On 07/28/1988, the Silsbee Police Department was dispatched to a residence located at 1280 Cooks Road in Silsbee, Texas. The deceased body of 26-year-old Caroline Susan Bolen was discovered inside her home. Ms. Bolen had been sexually assaulted and murdered by an unknown suspect. Despite extensive investigative efforts and the development of initial leads, the case eventually went “cold;” however, it remained open and under periodic review.

In 2019, Silsbee PD and the Texas Rangers began a review of the case, including the collection and reanalysis of evidence.

In August 2022, the DPS Crime Laboratory in Houston developed a DNA profile from biological evidence recovered at the scene. The DNA profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS); however, no matches were identified. Investigators then pursued forensic genetic genealogy to identify a suspect. DNA evidence was submitted to Othram Inc. in The Woodlands, Texas.

Funding for this effort was made possible through grants provided by Season of Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting unresolved violent crime investigations. Othram Inc. began compiling leads based on the suspect’s family genealogy. Silsbee PD and the Texas Rangers investigated these leads from forensic genealogy analysis which eventually led investigators to identifying Bolen’s killer as Allen Wayne Mosley.

Allen Mosley died by suicide in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2006.