Developing·Case the developing record
#DC-0153

Brenda Darnell McLerran Smith

A Fort Worth 1986 homicide victim was identified through forensic genealogy.

Investigation
last updated 18 August 2026 · 1 sources
Confirmed facts
8
Open questions
4
Case status
Unsolved
Victim age
36
This case is still developing. Get an email when the file updates.
Audio brief · automated narration of the sourced record
Transcript

Case file Brenda Darnell McLerran Smith, reference D C zero one five three. CBS Texas reported that Brenda Darnell McLerran Smith’s body was discovered on February twenty-fourth, nineteen eighty-six, in the thirteen hundred block of Kuroki Street near Hillside Park in Fort Worth. CBS Texas reported that the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office said she was thirty-six when her body was discovered. CBS Texas reported that authorities described her as a woman found strangled in Fort Worth. According to CBS Texas, preserved biological evidence was sent in twenty twenty-five to Othram, Incorporated, for forensic genetic genealogy analysis. CBS Texas reported that the work led investigators to her brother, Floyd Ray McLerran, who provided a DNA sample to authorities. CBS Texas reported that, in July twenty twenty-six, the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification confirmed a biological sibling match. The file’s open questions include her exact missing date, the circumstances before her body was found, whether any person of interest has been identified or charges filed, and what additional evidence investigators are seeking. This has been an automated reading of case file D C zero one five three at developing case dot com. Every fact you heard names a public source.

Timeline of what's confirmed8 entries
24 February 1986
Brenda Darnell McLerran Smith's body was discovered in the 1300 block of Kuroki Street near Hillside Park in Fort Worth.
CBS Texas
24 February 1986
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office said Brenda Darnell McLerran Smith was 36 when her body was discovered.
CBS Texas
24 February 1986
Authorities described Brenda Darnell McLerran Smith as a woman found strangled in Fort Worth.
CBS Texas
2025
Preserved biological evidence was sent to Othram, Inc. for forensic genetic genealogy analysis.
CBS Texas
2025
Investigators were led to Brenda Darnell McLerran Smith's brother, Floyd Ray McLerran, through the forensic genealogy work.
CBS Texas
2025
Floyd Ray McLerran provided a DNA sample to authorities.
CBS Texas
July 2026
The University of North Texas Center for Human Identification confirmed a biological sibling match.
CBS Texas
18 August 2026
The homicide remained unsolved and under active investigation, and Fort Worth police asked anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit.
CBS Texas
Open questionsunconfirmed · not conclusions
What was Brenda Darnell McLerran Smith's exact missing date?unconfirmed; CBS Texas reported only that her brother said she went missing in the mid-1980s · unconfirmed
What were the circumstances between her disappearance and the discovery of her body?unconfirmed; no detailed timeline was reported by CBS Texas · unconfirmed
Have investigators identified any person of interest or filed any charges?unconfirmed; CBS Texas reported the homicide remains unsolved and active · unconfirmed
What additional evidence are investigators seeking from the public?unconfirmed; CBS Texas reported only the Fort Worth Police Department Homicide Unit contact request · unconfirmed
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