Police seek help in solving New Year’s murder

Crime Stoppers and Pasadena police are seeking information that might help solve the murder of a woman whose body was discovered beneath a Pasadena bridge New Year’s Day.

About 11:30 that morning, the nude body of Edlyn Villegas, 36, was found lying face-up under the Vince Bayou Bridge, 100 Queens Road. Police said Villegas appeared to have been badly beaten. Her clothes and a cellular telephone were found nearby.

In a news release Thursday, detectives said they were still awaiting a cause of death determination by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, as well as the results of a sexual assault exam.

The night before her death, Villegas was at a nightclub near the 1400 block of Spencer Highway in South Houston. She allegedly left the club between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. after a verbal altercation with an unidentified female customer. Villegas was frequently known to walk home via Perez Street and Queens Road. Her body was found along that same route, police said.

Anyone with information about the murder or the identity of the person or people responsible for her death is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-8477. Tips also may be submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org or by text as TIP610 plus the message to CRIMES (274637).