A COLD case murder mystery has been solved 40 years on as cops reveal a woman found dead on a highway was “murdered by a serial killer”.

The family of Kathy Ann Smith, who was killed over four decades ago, have finally received closure as she has been officially identified.

Smith’s body was discovered on Highway 290 close to FM 696 in June 1979, and she was later discovered dead in Elgin, Texas.

She was a white female who was 22 years old when she passed away, the Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook revealed at a press conference on Thursday.

She was buried and nameless for all these years, the speaker said.

The sheriff added that when the investigation was reopened in 2019, authorities exhumed her remains in an attempt to find DNA traces, but they were ultimately unsuccessful.

“She was adopted, which was a difficulty. We had an adoptive family engaged in this, so that really played with our DNA, said Cook.

Smith’s remains was unearthed once more three years later, in 2022, and this time detectives working on her case used DNA evidence and genetic genealogy to find a compatible family free.

After entering this data into a database, it is said that 44 years after the body was discovered, authorities were finally able to identify her just a few weeks ago.

“There is a family that deserves to rest in peace, and there is a person who is not in need. And that’s a lovely thing,” said Bryan Goertz, the district attorney for Bastrop County.

In order to process the DNA collected from Smith’s body, the Sheriff’s Office collaborated closely with the forensic genetic genealogy business Othram, based in Texas.

The company specializes in using DNA extraction to identify unidentified decedents or murder victims in order to solve unsolved murders, disappearances, and other unresolved crimes.

Henry Lee Lucas, a reputed serial murderer, admitted to killing Smith in May 2019, according to Sergeant James Miller.

Officials have stated that he is the main suspect in this case, although Lucas died in prison while doing time for a different offense, and detectives have stated that there are no other suspects at this moment.

An autopsy revealed injuries to Smith’s body that were consistent with those from a car collision, and her death was classified as a homicide.

Keep in mind that Henry Lee Lucas was under investigation at the time, and one of his tactics was to scout out someone walking down the side of the road, run into them, and render them helpless so that he could attack them, Cook said.

According to the sheriff, the investigation will continue while Smith’s family works to construct a monument at her grave.

Smith is survived by her daughter and other family members; she would have turned 67 last week.