The Parking Lot Assault and Murder of Teresa Branch
There’s a moment when your child is out of sight, your heart drops, and it immediately picks back up when they re-enter the frame. It’s an instinctual fear; all parents know terrifying things can happen in a heartbeat. On Saturday, April 19, 1986, the family and friends of Teresa Laune Branch, 18, learned this most devastatingly.
Meet the most beautiful girl in school.
Teresa lived near Slidell, Texas, in Wise County with her grandparents. She moved in with them, seeking a fresh start and a stricter environment than Arlington High School. She quickly found her groove, earning straight As and finding recognition for a dress she’d made. Her small class of 12 people had even voted her most beautiful as they wrapped up senior year. Teresa Branch inherited her striking chestnut-colored locks and olive skin from her Spanish mother, Mercedes Branch.
Teresa often visited Mercedes and her father on the weekends. It was a 90-minute drive from her grandparents’ home to Arlington. The night before, Teresa attended her senior prom. She drove to her parents’ home with a friend, Lisa Freeman, in tow. She had her parents’ car and planned to swap it for her graduation gift, a red Pontiac Sunbird.
