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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.
Teresa had car troubles throughout the day.
Teresa’s car stalled three times that day. The first time, her father, Kenneth Branch, recharged the battery; the second, she received help from a good Samaritan who stopped his Buick Skyhawk to jump-start Teresa’s car.
On Saturday evening, Teresa and Lisa packed the Sunbird to head home. Unfortunately, her car stalled for the third and final time. With no pay phone in sight, Teresa decided to jog back to her parents’ home less than a mile away. She asked Lisa to wait with the car as it held all their belongings, and Teresa was paranoid about leaving them in an empty apartment lot.
Teresa said it would take 20 minutes; she even left Lisa with her wristwatch. As the minutes ticked past, Lisa moved from angry to panicked. Eventually, Lisa left the car. Unfamiliar with the area, she walked until she found a pay phone. She called the Branches and swiftly found out Teresa never made it home. Kenneth Branch dialed the…
