Austin Police Seek Public's Help As Murder Case Grows Cold

AUSTIN, TEXAS — With the trail of clues growing cold, police are seeking help from the public in solving a murder case centered on a woman found dead in a wooded area on New Year's Eve.

During a press conference on Wednesday, police outlined what they know about the murder of Nicole Diane Coleman, 23, whose nude body was found along the 7000 block of Ed Bluestein Boulevard not far from Purple Sage Drive.

The short of it is that police don't know much.

What is known are her whereabouts days before her death, as evidenced by security camera surveillance footage taken at a parking lot of a Kool Corner gas station on 6413 Manor Rd. the night of Dec. 28 at around 7:30 p.m. — a place she enjoyed frequenting, according to police. The footage has since been released — showing Coleman clad in a pink and white sweater with a stripe pattern on the sleeves — in the hopes someone might recognize her and contact police with any relevant information.

The surveillance video appears below:

Related story: Austin Police Investigate Murder Of Woman Found Nude

Reportedly, Coleman had a history of mental health issues, receiving medical treatment at area hospitals and the facility where she lived near Manor Road and Northeast Drive. Police are now investigating her death as a homicide without disclosing details related to the manner of her death, saying only she had traumatic injuries throughout her body following her discovery by a passerby. Police declined to say if Coleman was sexually assaulted prior to her death.

At one point, it was believed two men arrested in connection to an aggravated sexual assault just days before Coleman's death — about a mile away at Davis White Northeast Neighborhood Park off Loyola Lane on Dec. 21 — might have been involved. But the two men have since been ruled out as suspects in the young woman's death, police said Wednesday.

With that initial lead now dismissed, police are now bereft of clues. Exacerbating the challenge of the investigation is Coleman's brief history in Austin, having moved from the Houston area a mere two months before her murder.

All that's left for police is to reach out to the public for any information about the woman whose brief life was violently extinguished as the year came to a close. “We are asking for the public’s assistance and help if they may have seen her around that time frame, around that weekend,” Detective Patrick O’Farrell told reporters at a press conference.

Those who have been to the Kool Corner gas station and remember seeing or encountering Coleman there should ask themselves: Did she ever talk with someone while at the convenience store? Did she hang out with other people there? What did those people look like? Did she ever say anything about her future plans as the new year approached? Did she ever mention any friends by name? Was she ever approached by someone whose overtures she resisted?

Anyone near the scene of the crime in the days before her death might ask themselves: Were there any suspicious vehicles parked nearby? What did those cars look like? Were there other people in the area in the days prior to her death?

Anyone who might have information — about Coleman's whereabouts prior to her death or who may have encountered her at the gas station — is urged to contact police. Tips can be submitted by calling (512) 477-3588, via email at homicide.apd@austintexas.gov, through Crime Stoppers by calling (512) 472-8477 or texting “Tip 103” with information to CRIMES or using the Crime Stoppers app.

Map showing location where Coleman's body was found

Map showing location of gas station Coleman enjoyed frequenting

Get Patch's Daily Newsletters and Real Time Alerts

>>> Photo of Nicole Diane Coleman courtesy of Austin Police Department