Among the indictments returned during the December session of the Brown County Grand Jury was one for capital murder for Pablo Figueroa in regard to the 1981 death of Dona Mae Inlow.
Inlow died at the age of 72 on April 27, 1981 from stab wounds to the chest suffered during a robbery at the family’s Inlow’s Shoe Service on 114 East Chandler in downtown Brownwood.
According to a copy of the indictment received by BrownwoodNews.com, Figueroa intentionally caused the death of Dona Mae Inlow by stabbing or puncturing her chest with a knife or sharp object in the course of committing the offenses of robbery, aggravated sexual assault, or burglary.
Previously, Figueroa was convicted of criminal mischief in Zavala County on Feb. 10, 1983 and again of burglary of a habitation on March 22, 1993 in Zavala County.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, www.bop.gov, Figueroa is currently in federal custody at the FCI Yazoo City medium security federal correctional institution in Yazoo City, Mississippi with a current release date slated for Sept. 25, 2024.
No other additional details are currently available.
Originally, a Brown County Grand Jury on March 5, 1982 moved to indict Frank Lombardino, Jr. for the capital murder of Dona Mae Inlow. Blood and hair samples were taken that excluded Lombardino, the charges were dropped and he was released.
Then, on September 6, 1991, Jesus Aleman Flores was indicted for capital murder, aggravated robbery and sexual assault in connection with Inlow’s death based in part upon the results of DNA tests of Flores’ blood.
Attorneys for Flores appealed the ruling in 1993, moving to suppress a second blood sample on the grounds that only specifically described property or items set forth in a search warrant may be seized.
The State of Texas secured its first blood sample from Flores pursuant to a search warrant issued on June 24, 1985. This was before the DNA testing procedure had been developed, and that blood sample was not sufficiently preserved for DNA testing.
The State secured the second blood sample from Flores, the blood which was used for DNA testing, pursuant to a search warrant issued on Jan. 10, 1991. The court moved that no DNA evidence obtained from the 1991 sample would be allowed in court and the decision, which was appealed, was upheld in a higher court.
Also, Henry Lee Lucas, who was apprehended in 1983 for murdering 11 people between 1960 and 1983, claimed to have killed more than 600 people – including Inlow – but was excluded as Lucas was determined to be in Jacksonville, Florida on April 27, 1981.
* Portions of the information for this story came from the websites casemine.com and bluecanarytx.wordpress.com.