Robert Van Wisse, suspect in 1983 strangling, added to FBI's "10 Most Wanted" list

SAN ANTONIO -- Robert Van Wisse, a former University of Texas student from Mexico sought in the 1983 slaying of Laurie Stout, a cleaning woman in Austin, has been added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

The FBI on Tuesday offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of 51-year-old Van Wisse. The case involves the September 1983 strangling of 22-year-old Stout in an office building where she worked a night shift. 

The woman’s body was found in a restroom the next morning. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled with a wire.

She had been married with a one-year-old daughter.  

Authorities say Van Wisse, who was 18 at the time, had been in the building registering for a course and investigators determined he was the last person seen in the building before the murder. He was initially ruled out as a suspect and the case went cold, Special Agent Justin Noble, a member of the FBI’s Central Texas Violent Crimes Task Force in Austin who is investigating the case, said in a statement.

About a decade later, in the early 1990s, the Austin Police Department submitted crime scene evidence for new DNA tests utilizing technology that wasn’t available at the time of the murder.

“The results pointed directly to Van Wisse,” Noble said.

Officials believe Van Wisse, born in Guadalajara, fled Austin after learning he possibly was a suspect. A Texas murder warrant was issued in 1996. A U.S. warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued in 1997.

Noble said he believes the crime was premeditated. He said Van Wisse’s family owns multiple properties in Mexico and in Guatemala.

“He’s a smart guy and he’s bilingual,” Noble said in the statement. “He could be anywhere.”

Another recent addition to the notorious top ten list, Marlon Jones, was apprehended Dec. 6 after a Los Angeles car chase, reported CBS Los Angeles. He was added to the list Dec. 1. Jones is accused in the slaying of four people at a Los Angeles birthday party in October.

He’s been arraigned on capital murder charges.

Anyone with information about Van Wisse’s whereabouts is asked to contact their local FBI office or the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or submit a tip on the FBI’s website.

contact your local FBI office or the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or submit a tip on our website.