APD Announcement

APD to review cold cases after learning accused serial killer lived in Austin

Just hours after police in Indiana announced they are charging former Austinite Darren Vann for the murders of seven women, the Austin Police Department issued a press release that it will be launching a formal review of the department's homicide cold cases and missing persons cases.

According to the release, "Detectives will be conducting a detailed review of potentially related cases based on information received." APD did not provide specific details about the information or elaborate on the review.

Police in Hammond, Indiana arrested Vann on Saturday, October 18 after 19-year-old Afrika Hardy was found strangled in a local Motel 6. After his arrest, Vann allegedly confessed to killing at least seven women and said that he killed other people in Indiana over the past two decades. Investigators have found the bodies of six other women believed to be victims of Vann.

Vann lived in Austin from 2004 until 2009 when he was arrested and found guilty of aggravated rape. According to records, Vann attempted to strangle a 25-year-old woman in his Austin apartment in December 2007 before beating and sexually assaulting her. He served four years in jail at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville. After his release in 2013, Vann was placed on the Texas Department of Public Safety's Sexual Offender Registry. He returned to Indiana that same year.

APD is urging anyone with information to call the Homicide Tip Line at 512-477-3588 or the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program at 512-472-TIPS or text "Tip 103" along with your message to CRIMES.

Austin Police to launch formal review of cold cases.

Courtesy of Austin Police Department Facebook

Austin Police to launch formal review of cold cases.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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